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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry 


The  Campaigns 
'/ 

The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry 

First  Known  as 

'The   Luzerne   Regiment" 

Being  the  Record  of  Nearly  Four  Years'  Continuous 
Service,  from  October  7,  1861,  to  July  12,  1865, 
in  the  War  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Rebellion 


Compiled  under  Authority  of  the  Regimental  Association 
By 

Smith  B.  Mott 

Late  Quartermaster  of  the   Regiment 


Press  of  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia 
1911 


DEDICATED 
WITH  A  COMRADE'S  LOVE 

TO 

THE  "OLD  BOYS"  OF  THE  FIFTY-SECOND  PENNA.  VOLUNTEERS 

"  Both  they  who  abide  on  this  hither  side 
And  the  comrades  gone  over  the  great  divide," 

ESPECIALLY 
TO   THE   MEMORY   OF   THOSE   COMRADES 

OF   THE 
FIFTY-SECOND   REGIMENT   PENNSYLVANIA   VOLUNTEERS 

"  Who  rendered  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion,  and 
Gave  their  lives  that  the  Nation  might  live." 


239264 


Pre£ 


ace 


As  stated  in  the  "  Authorization  "  article  following 
this  Preface,  the  original  scope  of  the  work  contemplated 
only  a  pamphlet  publication.  The  writer,  therefore,  con 
densed  the  work  as  much  as  possible.  Had  the  com 
pilation  of  a  larger  volume  been  originally  decided  upon, 
— and  the  consequent  expenditure  of  time  and  money  been 
provided  for, — no  doubt  a  much  more  full  and  complete 
history  could  have  been  produced.  This  story  of  the 
regiment,  however,  covers  the  ground  pretty  thoroughly 
in  a  general  way.  The  Survivors  (who  are  the  ones 
most  deeply  interested  in  its  publication)  will,  no  doubt, 
be  glad  to  go  over  the  ground  of  their  tramp,  tramp, 
tramping — nearly  fifty  years  ago — in  imagination  with 
the  writer,  as  he  succinctly  recites  the  story.  At  least, 
as  the  recital  proceeds  their  memories  will  be  refreshed, 
and  scenes  recalled  in  which  they  took  a  part  and  were 
a  part,  of  that  momentous  epoch — the  War  of  the  Re 
bellion. 

The  lapse  of  time — nearly  half  a  century — since  the 
events  recorded  herein  transpired,  and  the  death  of  so 
many  of  the  older  men  of  the  regiment,  the  dispersion 
of  many  of  the  living  to  places  far  away  and  others  to 
places  unknown,  preclude  any  attempt  to  obtain  detailed 
accounts  in  the  form  of  personal  narratives.  A  few, 
however,  are  included  and  are  very  interesting. 

A  roster  of  officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the  regiment, 
giving  the  names  of  all  who  belonged  to  it  during  the 


Preface 

four  years,  as  nearly  as  could  be  ascertained  from  the 
records  available  to  the  writer,  has  been  added  to  the 
work.  In  this  no  doubt  some  errors  may  be  discovered. 
A  considerable  portion  of  this  roster  is  compiled  from 
Bates's  History  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Some 
errors  were  found  in  that  history,  and  some  also  in  actual 
copies  of  muster-out  rolls. 

Company  clerks  were  not  always  correct,  and  some 
times  were  careless  as  to  dates  and  the  spelling  of  names. 
In  one  or  two  instances  the  rolls  show  a  soldier  mustered- 
out  several  months  before  he  was  mustered-in.  One 
important  item  the  clerks  who  made  up  the  rolls  failed  to 
note,  and  that  was  the  "  wounded."  They  mention 
"  killed  "  and  "  died  of  wounds  "  and  some  "  discharged 
on  account  of  wounds,"  but  a  great  many  who  were 
wounded  have  no  mention  made  of  it  on  the  rolls.  It  was 
impossible,  therefore,  to  make  up  separate  lists,  and  the 
details  under  the  heading  "  Remarks  "  will  have  to  be 
accepted  as  the  fullest  information  now  obtainable.  The 
writing  on  the  rolls  is  sometimes  impossible  to  decipher, 
for  instance  "  S  "  and  "  L  "  being  written  so  nearly  alike 
that  they  cannot  be  distinguished  one  from  the  other.  If, 
then,  some  errors  are  discovered,  do  not  place  the  blame 
at  once  upon  the  compiler.  The  fault  may  not  be  his. 

The  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers 
was,  for  nearly  three  years  of  the  time  it  was  in  service, 
in  one  brigade.  In  Washington,  D.  C,  and  until  it  ar 
rived  before  Yorktown,  Va.,  the  brigade  was  commanded 
by  Colonel  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania  regiment.  It  was  then  under  com 
mand  of  Brigadier-General  Henry  M.  Naglee  through 
all  the  battles  of  the  Peninsula  Campaign  in  which  the 

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Preface 

brigade  took  part,  and  until  it  reached  North  Carolina,  with 
exception  of  a  few  months  in  the  summer  of  1862,  when 
Brigadier-General  Emory  was  in  command  temporarily 
during  the  absence  of  General  Naglee.  In  North  Caro 
lina  Colonel  Davis  was  again  in  command  of  the  brigade, 
and  also  in  South  Carolina  the  greater  part  of  the  time. 
Some  of  the  regiments  were  detached  from  the  brigade 
and  again  returned  to  it,  but  from  the  time  the  "  provis 
ional  brigade  "  was  formed  at  Washington  in  November, 
1 86 1,  until  the  I3th  of  June,  1864,  the  Fifty-second  Penn 
sylvania  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania 
were  inseparably  connected  with  the  same  brigade.  In 
the  closing  campaign  with  Sherman's  army  in  North 
Carolina  the  regiment  was  in  "  Moore's  brigade." 

Therefore  in  the  following  pages  the  brigade  is  often 
mentioned,  as  "  Naglee's  Brigade "  or  "  Davis's  Bri 
gade,"  etc.,  or  that  it  marched,  or  camped,  or  was  engaged 
in  an  action,  or  reconnoissance,  at  this  place  or  that, 
without  mentioning  the  Fifty-second  Regiment  explicitly. 
This  is  deemed  a  more  satisfactory  way  of  explaining 
movements  than  simply  recording  that  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  was  at  this,  that,  or  another  place  at  a 
certain  time,  leaving  the  reader  in  doubt  as  to  whether  or 
not  there  were  other  troops  engaged  with  it  or  within 
miles  of  the  place.  It  seems  to  the  writer  as  being 
more  nearly  what  the  "  Survivors  "  desire  than  the  nar 
row  contracted  view  of  things  from  within  the  lines  lim 
ited  by  the  regimental  guards.  Without  the  environ 
ment,  the  surroundings,  and  the  connections  with  other 
regiments  and  larger  bodies  of  troops  (in  the  movements 
of  which  the  regiment  was  simply  an  integer)  the  regi 
mental  history  would  be  a  stilted  story,  and  fail  to  satisfy 


Preface 

those  anxious  to  know  more  fully  what  was  taking  place 
in  which  the  regiment  had  a  part. 

Sketches  of  the  lives  of  Colonel  Henry  M.  Hoyt, 
Colonel  John  B.  Conyngham,  Major  George  R.  Lennard, 
also  of  Colonel  Ezra  Hoyt  Ripple,  who  succeeded  Major 
Lennard  as  president  of  the  Regimental  Association,  with 
portraits,  are  included  at  the  end  of  the  history.  Some 
interesting  "  Addenda  "  are  also  appended,  one  of  con 
siderable  interest  being  a  correspondence  furnished  by 
H.  C.  Miller,  secretary  of  the  Association,  in  regard  to 
some  peculiar  pikes  found  among  the  defensive  works  of 
Fort  Wagner,  Morris  Island,  S.  C.  One  of  the  letters 
was  written  by  General  G.  T.  Beauregard,  C.S.A. 

The  table  of  "  Contents  "  furnishes  almost  a  complete 
outline  or  itinerary  of  the  movements  in  which  the  regi 
ment  took  part. 

The  compilation  as  it  is,  with  any  faults  it  contains  or 
matter  it  fails  to  contain,  has  been  a  labor  of  love  on  the 
part  of  the  historian.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  a 
large  number  of  the  "  Survivors,"  and  of  their  families 
and  friends,  and  the  relatives  of  deceased  comrades,  are 
anxiously  looking  forward  in  anticipation  of  the  produc 
tion  of  the  history  at  the  "Fiftieth  Anniversary"  to  be 
held  this  year  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  the  "  historian " 
would  not  have  had  the  courage  to  go  on  and  complete  it. 
The  work  involved  was  far  beyond  anything  anticipated, 
and  the  difficulties  encountered  in  getting  the  data  and 
securing  its  publication  were  almost  insurmountable. 

That  all  the  difficulties  may  be  overcome,  and  that  it 
may  be  ready  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
will  prize  it,  with  all  its  imperfections,  at  the  next  reunion, 
is  the  heartfelt  desire  of  the  compiler. 


10 


Preface 


AUTHORIZATION. 

At  the  twenty-third  reunion  of  the  Fifty-second  Regi 
ment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  Survivors  Association, 
held  at  Lake  Winola,  Pa.,  September  13,  1910,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  Association  have  published  a  history  of 
the  regiment,  and  Smith  B.  Mott  was  appointed  his 
torian.  The  president  of  the  Association  was  directed 
to  appoint  a  committee  of  five  members,  the  president 
to  be  a  member  and  chairman  thereof,  for  the  purpose 
of  having  compiled  and  printed  a  history  of  our  regi 
ment  of  as  large  size  as  contributions  from  the  members 
of  the  Association  will  permit,  and  in  time  for  distribu 
tion  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary,  to  be  held  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pa.,  in  1911.  In  pursuance  of  this  action  the 
president,  Wm.  McClave,  appointed  the  committee  as  fol 
lows  :  Wm.  McClave,  chairman,  Herman  C.  Miller,  secre 
tary  and  treasurer,  Smith  B.  Mott,  historian,  Irvin  E. 
Finch,  and  Joseph  R.  Harper. 

At  first  it  was  decided  to  publish  only  a  condensed  his 
tory  of  the  regiment  in  pamphlet  form,  but  the  accumu 
lation  of  material,  including  a  roster,  was  found  to  ex 
ceed  the  limits  originally  intended,  and  to  make  it  desir 
able  to  publish  the  work  in  book  form  under  authority 
of  an  Act  of  Assembly,  approved  May  n,  1905,  to  wit: 
"  An  Act  to  authorize  the  purchase  of  historical  works 
relative  to  the  services  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  dur 
ing  the  late  Civil  War,"  and  the  said  committee  subse 
quently  authorized  the  historian  to  complete  the  com 
pilation  of  the  volume  and  have  it  published  in  book  form 
under  the  provisions  of  the  above-mentioned  Act  of 
Assembly.  When  the  manuscript  had  been  prepared  by 

ii 


Preface 

the  historian,  it  was  approved  by  the  committee,  as  shown 
by  the  following  certificate : 

SCRANTON,  PA.,  June  30,  1911. 

To  Whom  it  may  concern: 

This  is  to  certify  that  Smith  B.  Mott  is  the  authorized  "  His 
torian,"  appointed  by  the  "  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Regiment 
Survivors  Association"  to  prepare  and  have  published  a  History 
of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  further  that  the 
manuscript  of  said  history  as  prepared  for  publication  by  him  is 
satisfactory  to  the  committee  appointed  by  said  Association  to  take 
charge  of  all  matters  appertaining  to  publishing  of  said  History. 

Signed :  WM.  McCLAVE,  Chairman, 

HERMAN  C.  MILLER,  Secy.  &  Treas., 
SMITH  B.  MOTT, 
I.  E.  FINCH, 
Jos.  R.  HARPER, 

Committee. 


12 


Contents 

CHAPTER  I 

Formation  of  the  Regiment — At  Camp  Curtin — Going  to  Wash 
ington — Camps  and  Barracks  at  the  Capital — Col.  Davis's 
Brigade — Drilling  on  Meridian  Hill — Carver  Barracks 25-26 

CHAPTER  II 

Leaving  Washington  for  the  Peninsula — Alexandria,  Fort  Mon 
roe,  and  Newport  News — The  Fifty-second  "under  fire," 
for  the  first  time,  from  a  rebel  fort 27-29 

CHAPTER  III 

General  Naglee  takes  command  of  the  brigade  in  front  of  York- 
town — McClellan's  siege  operations — Yorktown  evacuated — 
A  Fifty-second  boy  killed  by  a  torpedo  in  roadway — Battle 
of  Williamsburg — Naglee's  Brigade  supports  Hancock's 
charge  30-34 

CHAPTER  IV 

"  On  to  Richmond  " — The  Fifty-second  sheds  first  blood  on  the 
Chickahominy,  May  20,  1862 — Capt.  Davis,  of  the  Fifty- 
second,  and  his  sharp-shooters — Naglee's  reconnoissance  to 
Seven  Pines — The  Fifty-second  and  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania  at  the  front 35~42 

CHAPTER  V 

Trouble  brewing — The  ominous  sounds  of  rebel  preparation — 
Battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  or  "  Seven  Pines,"  May  31,  1862— The 
"  plan  "  of  the  enemy — A  stubborn  resistance  against  over 
whelming  forces  of  the  enemy — The  attempt  to  crush 
Keyes's  Corps  is  frustrated — Sedgwick's  Division  arrives 
from  the  north  bank — The  day  ends  with  a  victory  on  the 
right — Gen.  Jos.  E.  Johnston,  the  Confederate  Commander- 
in-Chief,  wounded  43~52 

13 


Contents 

CHAPTER  VI 

Another  account  of  the  battle — Some  preliminary  corrections  of 
Greeley's  graphic  description  of  the  contest — Johnston's 
preparations — Casey's  Division  enveloped  by  masses  of  the 
enemy — Naglee's  Brigade  charges  with  bayonet — Saving  the 
guns  from  capture — Sedgwick's  timely  arrival  on  the  right — 
The  second  day's  battle  only  briefly  mentioned — The  rebels 
retired  to  Richmond,  he  says,  "wholly  unmolested" S3~70 

CHAPTER  VII 

The  second  day  at  Fair  Oaks — Councils  of  war,  by  both  Union 
and  Confederate  Commanders,  decide  to  attack  next  morn 
ing,  June  ist — Positions  of  the  forces  on  both  sides — The 
rebels  attack  at  daylight — They  furiously  charge  our  lines 
repeatedly,  and  are  repeatedly  repulsed — The  day  ends  by 
the  enemy  being  driven  from  the  field  and  Casey's  camps 
being  regained — Consternation  in  the  rebel  capital — "  We 
know  now,"  says  McClellan's  chief  of  artillery,  "  that  it 
could  have  been  followed  into  Richmond" — The  losses.  .71-77 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  with  Naglee's  Brigade,  return 
to  fortify  at  the  Chickahominy  bridges — Porter's  Corps 
forced  back  to  Gaines's  Mill — It  crosses  to  the  south  side 
after  a  stubborn  fight  on  the  north  bank — Naglee  holds  a 
"  memorial  service  "  in  memory  of  the  dead — The  "  change 
of  base "  to  the  James  is  commenced — Naglee's  Brigade 
holding  the  bridges,  and  following  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
as  rear  guard  across  White  Oak  Swamp,  being  the  last  to 
cross — Naglee's  Brigade,  by  special  order  of  McClellan,  is 
retained  at  White  Oak  Swamp  Crossing  as  rear  guard — 
With  Franklin's  Corps  it  is  charged  with  the  defence  of 
that  crossing — Positions  of  the  troops 78-81 

CHAPTER  IX 

Stonewall  Jackson  hesitates  at  White  Oak  Swamp  Crossing — 
With  General  D.  H.  Hill  he  made  a  reconnoissance,  but 
"  retired  rapidly  " — The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  deployed 
in  the  swamp— The  crossing  held  all  day  (June  30th)  under 

14 


Contents 

heavy  artillery  fire — The  enemy's  attempts  to  cross  are  frus 
trated — A  plucky  Irish  woman  on  the  battle-field — The 
enemy  repulsed  at  Glendale — Franklin's  Corps  moves  on 
towards  Malvern  Hill,  leaving  Naglee's  Brigade  as  rear 
guard  to  hold  the  crossing  against  Jackson  and  Hill — At 
10  P.M.,  Naglee  follows  Franklin — He  leaves  part  of  the 
brigade  at  the  crossing  all  night — Col.  Van  Wyck,  Fifty- 
sixth  New  York,  finally  leads  the  remaining  portion  of 
the  rear  guard  away  at  2  A.M.,  July  ist — Col.  Hoyt's  ac 
count — Hazzard's  Battery  in  peril 82-91 

CHAPTER  X 

General  Naglee's  account  of  the  "  change  of  base "  and  the 
seven  days'  battles,  retirement  to  the  James  River,  and 
a  tribute  to  the  men  of  his  command 92-95 

CHAPTER  XI 

Malvern  Hill — A  Union  victory — The  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
after  it,  retired  as  if  defeated — A  Confederate  account  of 
demoralization  in  Lee's  army — Keyes's  Corps  designated 
as  rear  guard  while  the  army  retires  to  Harrison's  Landing 
— Naglee's  and  Wessells's  brigades  detailed  for  this  duty — 
The  army  safe  at  last — McClellan  reports  only  fifty  thou 
sand  with  their  colors — Lincoln  visits  the  army  and  finds 
there  86,500 — Camp  duty  and  occupations  at  Harrison's 
Landing  96-99 

CHAPTER  XII 

Lee  planning  an  advance  on  Washington — McClellan  slow  in  re 
tiring  from  the  Peninsula — August  15th,  Naglee's  Brigade 
leaves  the  Landing  for  Yorktown — The  Fifty-second  Regi 
mental  Band  mustered  out — The  Army  of  the  Potomac  goes 
to  Manassas — Naglee's  Brigade  remains  on  the  Peninsula — 
The  old  Fourth  Corps  practically  discontinued — Keyes,  how 
ever,  remains  in  command  for  some  time 100-103 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Duty  at  Yorktown  and  drilling  on  the  heavy  guns  there 
mounted — General  Naglee  resumes  command  of  the  brigade 

IS 


Contents 

— Sunday  evolutions  on  the  plains  of  Gloucester — Major 
J.  B.  Conyngham  leads  an  expedition  into  Mathews  County 
and  destroys  salt  works,  with  machinery  and  much  salt — 
General  John  A.  Dix,  commanding,  came  up  from  Fort 
Monroe  and  reviewed  the  troops — General  Naglee  takes  the 
brigade,  with  artillery  and  cavalry,  into  Gloucester  and 
adjoining  counties — Rebel  rangers  dispersed  and  barracks 
burned,  a  large  tannery  destroyed,  and  much  leather,  live 
stock,  and  other  supplies  for  the  rebel  army,  captured  and 
brought  in — The  year  1862  closed  with  preparations  for 
embarkation  on  vessels  for  a  trip  south 104-107 

CHAPTER  XIV 

A  "  diary  "  of  the  trip  as  kept  by  one  of  the  survivors — The 
Fifty-second  on  board  the  steamer  "  Expounder  " — A  stormy 
voyage  to  North  Carolina — New- Year's  day  on  the  ocean — 
Beaufort  Harbor  and  Moorehead  City — News  received  of 
the  loss  of  the  "  Monitor "  in  the  storm  off  Hatteras — 
Camped  at  Carolina  City — Again  on  board  the  "  Expounder  " 
— Ten  days  waiting  in  the  harbor  for  the  fleet  to  rendezvous 
—The  run  to  Hilton  Head,  S.  C— An  attempt  to  break  the 
blockade  at  Charleston  by  rebel  rams  as  we  pass  by  in  the 
darkness — Camp  on  St.  Helena  Island — Again  on  the  briny, 
this  time  on  board  a  sailing  vessel,  the  bark  "  Milton  " — 
The  first  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  by  the  iron-clads — Its  fail 
ure  and  the  return  from  the  North  Edisto  of  the  transports 
and  troops  108-114 

CHAPTER  XV 

The  troops  concentrating  in  North  Carolina  in  Eighteenth  Army 
Corps — General  Naglee  given  a  division  command — Col. 
Davis  again  the  brigade  commander — Naglee  issues  an 
order  recounting  the  battles  of  the  Peninsular  Campaign  in 
which  his  old  brigade  was  engaged  and  authorizing  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  and  other  regiments  to  inscribe 
the  names  on  their  banners— A  copy  of  this  order,  "  General 
Orders  No.  3  " — A  month  in  North  Carolina — A  battalion  of 
sharp-shooters  formed,  Lieut.-Col.  Hoyt,  of  the  Fifty-second, 

to  command  it  1 15-120 

16 


Contents 

CHAPTER  XVI 

The  sailing  of  the  fleet  from  Beaufort  Harbor,  N.  C. — Passing 
Charleston  and  arrival  at  Port  Royal  Harbor,  S.  C. — General 
Naglee  in  command  of  the  expedition — General  Hunter  in 
corporated  the  Eighteenth  Corps  troops  into  his  command — 
Naglee  raises  objections — Hunter's  order  held  up  for  a 
time — Gen.  Naglee  finally  throws  up  the  sponge  and  leaves 
the  Department — General  Ferry  placed  in  command — The 
troops  board  transports  for  an  attack  on  Charleston — The 
iron-clad  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  fails  to  reduce  it — The 
transports  with  troops  return  to  Port  Royal — The  Fifty- 
second  with  Davis's  Brigade  sent  to  Beaufort,  S.  C 121-124 

CHAPTER  XVII 

At  Beaufort,  S.  C.— Col.  Davis  in  command  of  the  post— Col 
ored  troops  there  on  duty  make  expeditions — General  Q.  A. 
Gillmore  supersedes  General  Hunter  as  commander  of  the 
Department— Busy  times  begin— The  Fifty-second  again  on 
transport,  landing  at  Folly  Island — Davis's  Brigade  leads 
an  attack  on  James  Island — It  is  to  draw  attention  of 
enemy  from  Gillmore's  descent  upon  Morris  Island — Gen 
eral  A.  H.  Terry  in  command  of  the  forces  on  James 
Island — The  rebels  attack  Terry  and  the  gun-boats  in  the 
Stono  River — A  hot  engagement  ensues — The  "  Pawnee  " 
runs  aground  and  becomes  a  target  for  a  rebel  battery,  but 
finally  succeeds  in  getting  position  and  driving  the  battery 
out  of  range — A  transport  with  one  gun  on  her  bow  takes  a 
hand  in  the  fight — Quartermaster  Ross,  of  the  Fifty-second, 
makes  a  record  as  gunner — The  artillery  on  both  sides  have 
a  furious  duel — The  rebel  forces,  massed  for  a  charge, 
decimated  by  combined  fire  of  our  gun-boats  and  bat 
tery  and  retire  from  the  field — The  Fifty-second  Pennsyl 
vania  on  the  picket  line  at  night — Gillmore  having  obtained 
a  foothold  on  Morris  Island,  Terry  is  withdrawn  to  Folly 
Island  125-131 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

At  the  north  end  of  Folly  Island — Gillmore's  troops  under  lead 
of  General  G.  C.  Strong  assault  Fort  Wagner  the  second 
2  17 


Contents 

time — It  results  in  failure  with  a  heavy  loss  in  officers  and 
men — General  Strong  mortally  wounded — General  Seymour 
wounded — Col.  Shaw,  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  (colored), 
and  Col.  Putnam,  Fourth  New  Hampshire,  were  killed,  and 
Colonel  Chatfield,  Sixth  Connecticut,  was  mortally  wounded 
— Failing  to  carry  Fort  Wagner  by  assault,  General  Gillmore 
resumes  siege  operations — General  Terry  succeeds  Seymour 
in  command  of  troops  on  Morris  Island — Col.  Davis  in  com 
mand  on  Folly  Island  132-133 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  SIEGE  OF  FORT  WAGNER. 

The  first  parallel  completed  July  I7th,  before  the  assault  was 
made — On  July  23d  the  second  parallel  commenced — On 
July  25th  breaching  batteries  begun — Heavy  guns  mounted — 
The  "  Left  Batteries  "  and  magazines — The  "  Surf  Battery  " 
— July  24th  an  exchange  of  prisoners  in  the  harbor — July 
2pth  the  enemy  open  fire  from  a  new  battery — July  3ist 
General  Vodges  relieved  Col.  Davis  on  Folly  Island — August 
ist  Gordon's  Brigade,  of  Eleventh  Corps,  arrives,  followed 
by  that  of  General  Schimmelfennig — August  3d  Capt.  Paine, 
One  Hundredth  New  York,  captured — August  3d  the  erec 
tion  of  "  Swamp  Angel  "  battery  commenced — Augast  gth 
the  third  parallel  opened  by  "  flying  sap  " — August  I7th  to 
23rd  the  breaching  batteries  concentrate  their  fire  on  Fort 
Sumter  and  in  one  week  make  it  a  wreck — August  ipth 
"  Swamp  Angel "  battery  completed — August  22d  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania,  with  Davis's  Brigade,  go  to  Morris 
Island  for  three  days'  duty  in  trenches — August  22d  the 
fourth  parallel  opened  three  hundred  yards  from  Wagner — 
August  26th  fifth  parallel  opened  two  hundred  yards  from 
Wagner — August  2Qth  Davis's  Brigade  ordered  to  Morris 
Island  to  remain — September  5th  the  "  flying  sap  "  strikes 
the  ditch  on  front  of  Wagner — September  6th  General  Gill- 
more  decides  to  assault  Wagner  next  morning 134-139 

CHAPTER  XX 

THE    PLAN    FOR   THE    ASSAULT    ON    "  WAGNER." 

Troops  to  be  massed  in  the  trenches  close  up  to  the  fort — Two 
regiments  to  attack  on  the  front  face— One  brigade  to  attack 

18 


Contents 

the  rear  face  and  Davis's  Brigade  to  pass  the  fort  and  in 
trench  beyond  it — The  troops  marshal  for  the  charge — The 
signal  is  delayed — A  deserter  from  the  rebel  works  an 
nounces  the  fort  evacuated — The  report  is  verified  and  found 
to  be  true — Morris  Island  comes  fully  into  our  possession 
and  the  siege  is  over — Some  of  the  enemy  captured  in  boats 
— The  "  Boat  Infantry  "  was  not  able  to  intercept  the  retreat 
or  more  would  have  been  captured 140-142 

CHAPTER  XXI 

Admiral  Dahlgren  plans  an  attack  on  Sumter  by  boat — It  was 
well  advertised  to  enemy,  and,  of  course,  failed — The  moni 
tor  "  Weehawken  "  aground  under  enemy's  batteries — The 
iron-clad  fleet  to  the  rescue — Rebel  forts  silenced  and  maga 
zines  blown  up — The  "  Weehawken  "  finally  rescued — New 
works  erected  on  Morris  Island  after  its  capture 143-145 

CHAPTER  XXII 

SECOND    BOMBARDMENT    OF    SUMTER. 

Battery  Chatfield  and  other  batteries  give  Sumter  another  severe 
hammering — Then  Major  Conyngham,  of  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania,  makes  a  reconnoissance  at  night  in  boats  to 
Sumter — He  did  not  assault  the  fort,  as  he  found  it  well 
defended — The  bombardment  continued — Charleston  also  re 
ceived  the  attention  of  our  batteries  at  Cummings  Point  and 
Chatfield — This  was  kept  up  almost  continuously  during  the 
winter  of  1863  and  '64 146-147 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

RE-ENLISTMENT    OF    "  VETERANS." 

Congress  by  an  act  (joint  resolution)  authorized  re-enlistments 
— About  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  of  the  Fifty-second 
accept  the  provisions  of  this  resolution  as  of  January  i, 
1864 — Col.  H.  M.  Hoyt  and  Adjutant  Henry  A.  Mott  accom 
panied  the  "  Veterans"  to  Scranton,  Pa.,  on  their  thirty- 
day  furlough,  and  returned  with  them — Expeditions  to 
John's  Island  and  Kiowa  Island — Also  to  Bull's 
Bay — Work  and  duty  on  Morris  Island  severe — The  gar- 

19 


Contents 

rison  much  reduced  by  withdrawal  of  the  Ninth  Maine  and 
One  Hundredth  New  York  Regiments — The  Fifty-second 
and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  sent  to  Hilton 
Head,  S.  C. — General  Terry,  with  the  Tenth  Army  Corps 
(so-called),  sent  to  Virginia  to  join  the  Army  of  the  James 
— The  Fifty-second  returned  to  Folly  Island  in  June,  1864, 
parting  company  with  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsyl 
vania  finally — Thence  it  went  to  Morris  Island,  its  old 
tramping  ground  148-150 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

ANOTHER    ATTEMPT   TO   TAKE   CHARLESTON. 

General  J.  G.  Foster,  now  in  command  of  the  Department,  plans 
an  advance  on  the  city  with  four  separate  columns  of  troops 
— The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  leads  one  of  the  attacking 
columns — It  crosses  the  inner  harbor  in  boats  at  night — Col. 
Hoyt  and  Lieut-Col.  Conyngham  land  at  the  head  of  their 
men  and  capture  a  battery,  they  then  lead  their  small  force 
against  Fort  Johnson  gallantly,  but,  lacking  support,  are  un 
able  to  carry  it — Acting  Adjutant  Bunyan,  Captain  T.  B. 
Camp,  Lieut.  J.  G.  Stevens,  Lieut.  Thomas  Evans,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  men  are  all  that  land  with  the  two- 
colonels — Lieutenant  Bunyan  and  six  enlisted  men  killed 
and  sixteen  wounded — All  those  not  killed  became  prisoners 
— Of  those  captured  more  than  fifty  died  in  Southern 
prisons — General  Foster,  in  orders,  very  highly  commended 
the  officers  and  men  who  landed 151-156 

CHAPTER  XXV 

THE   FORT  JOHNSON   AFFAIR    (CONTINUED). 

Col.  Hoyt's  first  report  written  from  Charleston  jail — His  official 
report  made  after  his  release  and  return — Extract  from  Re 
port  of  Major  E.  H.  Little,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
seventh  New  York  Volunteers — Extract  from  Report  of 
General  J.  G.  Foster — Extract  from  Report  of  General  Sam. 
Jones,  commanding,  to  General  Cooper,  Asst.  Ins.  General 
C.  S.  A.,  Richmond,  Va. — Some  of  the  reasons  ascribed  for 
the  failure  of  other  boats  of  the  expedition  to  get  over  the 
bar  and  go  to  shore — A  question  of  guides  and  the  selection 

20 


Contents 

of  one  from  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  New 
York  to  pilot  the  flotilla  across  the  harbor,  who  did  not  get 
his  own  boat  to  shore,  given  as  one  of  the  reasons — Cor 
poral  Wm.  Scott,  a  "  survivor "  of  Co.  K,  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania,  gives  his  experiences  as  a  guide,  pilot,  and 
harbor  scout  of  the  "  Boat  Infantry  " — Duties  of  the  Boat 
Infantry  described  157-165 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THREE- YEAR    MEN     (NOT    RE-ENLISTED)     MUSTERED    OUT. 

The  term  of  service  of  a  large  number  of  the  original  three- 
year  members,  who  did  not  re-enlist,  expired  November  4, 
1864,  and  they  were  mustered  out — Several  officers  also 
took  their  discharge  at  this  time — Duty  of  the  regiment  on 
Black  Island,  and  expedition  to  destroy  the  bridges  on 
the  Savannah  Railroad— Corporal  M.  D.  Fuller,  of  Co.  "  H," 
in  command  of  a  "  mosquito  battery " — In  January,  1865, 
Captain  Hennessy  gets  up  a  "  circus  "  in  the  harbor  (driv 
ing  a  rebel  vessel  ashore),  and  receives  the  thanks  of  Gen 
eral  Schimmelfennig — Indications  of  rebel  preparations  for 
leaving  Charleston  166-168 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

ENTERING  CHARLESTON,   S.  C. 

Description  by  Captain  R.  W.  Bannatyne,  of  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania — Major  Hennessy  starts  in  the  boat  "  Ripley  " 
for  Fort  Sumter — He  places  our  flag  on  the  parapet  of 
the  fort — Fort  Ripley  and  Castle  Pinckney  occupied — Hen- 
nessy's  boat  first  at  dock  in  Charleston — Rebel  iron-clads 
blown  up  as  the  city  falls — The  United  States  flag  placed 
on  the  post-office — The  citadel  and  arsenal  occupied  by  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  169-173 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Occupation  of  forts  and  batteries — Bivouac  at  the  race-course — 
Expedition  to  Monk's  Corners — Camp  at  Mount  Pleasant — 

Aboard  transports  again — Land   at  Newberne,  N.  C 174-175 

21 


Contents 

CHAPTER  XXIX 
WITH  SHERMAN'S  ARMY. 

Goldsboro,  N.  C,  occupied  by  General  Schofield  with 
Twenty-third  Corps — Terry  with  his  forces  moving  from 
Wilmington — Sherman's  left  wing  fights  a  battle  at  Benton- 
ville — Sherman's  army  concentrated  at  Goldsboro — The 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  placed  in  First  Brigade,  Second 
Division,  Twenty-third  Corps — Colonel  John  B.  Conyng- 
ham  rejoins  and  takes  command  of  the  regiment 176-177 

CHAPTER  XXX 

The  march  with  Sherman  through  North  Carolina — Pitch  and 
other  things  burned  in  the  piny  woods — News  of  Lee's  sur 
render  at  Appomattox — Great  rejoicing  by  the  troops  on 
the  march — Sherman's  army  enters  Raleigh,  the  capital, 
April  I3th — General  Johnston  ready  to  negotiate  terms  of 
surrender — The  news  of  Lincoln's  assassination  throws 
gloom  over  the  army — On  April  ipth  terms  agreed  upon, 
subject  to  approval  at  Washington — General  Grant  quietly 
arrives  at  Raleigh — Sherman  then  offers  same  terms  given 
Lee — Terms  accepted  April  26th — General  Schofield  charged 
with  duty  of  receiving  surrender — Sherman's  four  corps 
march  for  Washington,  D.  C 178-181 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  sent  to  Salisbury,  N.  C. — There 
on  duty  until  July  12,  1865 — Telegraphic  orders  for  muster- 
out  received — Entrained  for  the  North — City  Point  and 
Harrison's  Landing — Hard-boiled  eggs  once  more  at  York, 
Pa. — Harrisburg  and  home 182-183 

APPENDIX 

Biographical  Sketches — In  Memoriam — Roster  of  the  Fifty- 
second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers — Addenda ...  185-266 


22 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

Colonel  John  C.  Dodge 25 

Henry  M.  Naglee 30 

Map  of  Richmond  and  Surroundings 43 

The  Transport  "  Expounder  " 109 

General  Quincy  A.  Gillmore 125 

Charleston  Harbor  and  Surroundings 132 

Fort  Sumter 138 

Henry  A.  Mott 148 

Lieutenant-Colonel  John  A.  Hennessy 167 

General  Henry  M.  Hoyt 187 

Colonel  John  B.  Conyngham 190 

Major  G.  R.  Lennard 194 

Mrs.  (Major)  George  R.  Lennard 194 

Colonel  Ezra  Hoyt  Ripple 198 

William  McClave 262 

Herman  C.  Miller 262 

Sergeant  I.  E.  Finch 262 

Joseph  R.  Harper 262 

Smith  B.  Mott. .  .262 


COLONEL  JOHN  C.  DODGE 
Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry. 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

1861  to  1865 


CHAPTER   I. 

FORMATION  OF  THE  REGIMENT. 

ON  August  i,  1861,  John  C.  Dodge,  Jr.,  of  Lycoming 
County,  who  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Eleventh  Pennsyl 
vania  Regiment  in  the  three  months'  service,  was  given 
authority  to  raise  a  regiment.  The  ten  companies  which 
afterwards  formed  the  Fifty-second  Regiment  were  re 
cruited  during  August  and  September  in  Luzerne,  Clinton, 
Union,  Columbia,  Wyoming  and  Bradford  Counties. 
Several  of  the  companies  were  mainly  recruited  in  Scran- 
ton,  and  vicinity,  then  a  part  of  Luzerne  County,  now 
Lackawanna.  By  October  ist  all  the  ten  companies  were 
in  Camp  Curtin,  Harrisburg,  and  the  regimental  organ 
ization  was  completed  October  7,  1861,  by  the  selection 
of  the  following  field  officers :  John  C.  Dodge,  Jr.,  colonel ; 
Henry  M.  Hoyt,  lieutenant-colonel ;  John  B.  Conyngham, 
major.  The  last  two  were  from  Wilkes-Barre  as  also 
was  Company  A,  and  the  Wyoming  Cornet  Band,  of  the 
same  place,  under  the  leadership  of  Prof.  Fred.  Wagner, 
became  part  of  the  organization  as  the  regimental  band. 
A  very  handsome  set  of  colors, — State  flag  and  U.  S. 
flag, — were  presented  to  the  regiment  by  Governor  Cur- 
tin  on  behalf  of  the  State,  before  leaving  for  the  seat  of 
war.  On  November  8,  1861,  the  regiment  left  Camp 
Curtin,  entrained  in  box  cars,  and  proceeded  via  York, 

25 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Baltimore,  and  Relay  Junction,  to  Washington,  D.  C.  Its 
first  camp  there  was  on  Kalorama  Heights  north  of 
Georgetown.  Then  out  on  Seventh  Street  until  about  the 
first  of  January,  1862,  when  the  four  regiments  compos 
ing  the  brigade  to  which  the  Fifty-second  was  attached, 
went  into  barracks  just  completed  on  Fourteenth  Street, 
in  the  northwestern  section  of  the  city,  called  Meridian 
Hill.  The  brigade  was  made  up  of  the  Fifty-second 
and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  Fifty-sixth 
New  York,  and  the  Eleventh  Maine,  under  command  of 
Colonel  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania.  The  barracks  were  one-story 
frame  buildings,  sixteen  feet  wide  by  eighty  feet  long,  each 
regiment  having  twelve  of  these, — one  for  the  field  and 
staff  officers,  one  for  non-commissioned  staff  and  band, 
and  one  for  each  company.  The  Fifty-second  barracks 
were  along  the  east  side  of  Fourteenth  Street,  facing  an 
open  parade  ground  seven  hundred  feet  across,  the  other 
three  regiments  occupying  the  other  three  sides  of  the 
square,  which  was  on  the  west  side  of  Fourteenth  Street. 
The  fields  surrounding  the  barracks  were  used  for  drill 
purposes, — company,  regiment,  and  brigade. 

While  encamped  in  Washington,  a  call  was  made  for 
volunteers  to  serve  on  gun-boats  in  the  western  river 
flotilla,  and  ten  men  went  from  the  Fifty-second  Penn 
sylvania,  one  from  each  company.  Several  of  them 
were  killed  by  an  explosion  on  the  "  Mound  City  "  in  an 
engagement  a  few  months  after  leaving  the  regiment. 

While  there  also,  First  Lieutenant  Frederick  Fuller, 
of  Company  I,  was  transferred  to  the  Signal  Corps,  with 
which  branch  of  the  service  he  remained  thereafter, 
achieving  a  most  enviable  record. 

26 


CHAPTER   II. 

LEAVING   WASHINGTON    FOR   THE    PENINSULA. 

ON  the  28th  of  March,  1862,  the  brigade  packed  up 
their  traps,  bade  good-by  to  Carver  Barracks,  and,  with 
flags  flying  and  bands  playing,  marched  down  Fourteenth 
Street  to  the  Long  Bridge,  which  it  crossed  at  route  step 
singing  patriotic  songs.  Passing  Fort  Runyon  on  the 
other  side,  it  marched  out  to  the  cross-roads  not  far  from 
Alexandria,  and  camped  on  the  "  sacred  soil."  The  day 
had  been  fine  and  sunny,  but  at  evening  a  drizzling  rain 
set  in,  followed  by  sleet  and  snow,  making  the  first  night's 
camping  out,  after  leaving  the  warm  shelter  of  the  bar 
racks,  a  pretty  severe  foretaste  of  the  real  soldiering  to 
follow.  Shelter  tents  and  straw  somewhat  relieved  the 
situation.  The  brigade,  still  under  command  of  Colonel 
Davis,  was  attached  to  Casey's  Division  of  the  Fourth 
Army  Corps,  and  designated  as  the  First  Brigade,  Third 
Division.  General  E.  D.  Keyes,  a  West  Point  graduate, 
was  in  command  of  the  corps.  After  two  days  of  rain 
the  brigade  was  marched  to  the  docks  at  Alexandria, 
where  it  embarked  on  the  vessel  "  Constitution,"  bound 
down  the  Potomac  for  Fort  Monroe,  to  take  part  in  Mc- 
Clellan's  peninsular  campaign.  The  vessel  was  a  very 
large  one,  and  the  five  regiments — the  One  Hundredth 
New  York  having  been  added  to  the  brigade  just  be 
fore  leaving  Washington — were  crowded  on  board.  Gen 
eral  Casey  with  his  staff  was  also  on  board.  Finding  the 
cargo  too  much  for  the  vessel,  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania  was  transferred  to  another  trans 
port,  and  the  next  morning,  Monday,  March  3ist,  the 

27 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

vessel  went  on  its  way  down  the  river.  At  a  point  near 
Aquia  Creek  the  "  Constitution "  went  fast  aground, 
where  it  remained  all  night,  with  a  gun-boat  for  protec 
tion,  fearing  the  enemy  might  shell  the  stranded  craft 
from  the  Virginia  shore.  The  next  morning  the  ship 
was  "  tugged  "  out  into  the  channel  and  went  on  down 
to  Old  Point,  where  it  anchored  April  ist  in  Hampton 
Roads.  The  troops  were  transferred  to  smaller  trans 
ports  and  landed  at  different  points.  The  Fifty-second 
was  taken  on  board  the  "  Hero  "  to  Newport  News, 
where  it  landed  on  a  temporary  dock.  Hampton  Roads 
had  less  than  a  month  before  been  the  scene  of  the  de 
struction  of  part  of  our  wooden  fleet  by  the  iron-clad 
"  Merrimac,"  and  the  duel  with  the  "  Monitor,"  March 
9th,  when  the  rebel  ram  was  forced  to  run  back  into  the 
Elizabeth  River  under  the  protection  of  their  batteries, 
a  defeated  giant.  As  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  on 
the  "  Hero  "  went  up  the  roadway  to  Newport  News,  it 
passed  the  "  Monitor  "  lying  at  anchor,  and  further  up 
the  remains  of  the  destroyed  vessels,  "  Cumberland  "  and 
"  Congress."  The  mast-head  of  the  "  Cumberland  "  had 
the  flag  still  flying  only  a  few  feet  above  the  water  in 
which  she  sank,  while  the  burned  remains  of  the  "  Con 
gress  "  were  lying  nearer  the  north  shore.  Before  reach 
ing  its  destination  the  "  Hero  "  was  fired  upon  from  a 
rebel  battery  at  Pig's  Point  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Roads,  but  the  shot,  although  a  good  liner  for  the  boat, 
fell  in  the  water  several  hundred  yards  short.  The 
Fifty-second  had  been  under  fire.  After  landing,  the 
regiment  marched  a  few  miles  up  the  Richmond  road 
and  went  into  camp.  Casey's  division  was  encamped  in 
this  vicinity  until  Wednesday,  April  i6th,  when  it 

28 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

marched  up  to  Warwick  Court  House  in  a  broiling  sun 
for  twenty  miles,  giving  the  troops  a  regular  Turkish 
bath  with  their  clothes  on.  The  next  day  Casey's  divis 
ion  took  up  its  position  as  a  part  of  the  line  from  York- 
town  to  Warwick,  in  front  of  Lee's  Mills.  On  the 
right,  in  front  of  Yorktown,  McClellan  was  throwing 
up  redoubts  and  bastions,  and  bomb-proofs  and  epaule- 
ments,  salients,  revetements,  and  other  things  mentioned 
in  military  engineering  works,  too  numerous  to  men 
tion.  He  was  bringing  up  also  heavy  siege-guns  and 
mounting  them  on  these  works  in  very  formidable  array. 


CHAPTER  III. 

IN   FRONT  OF  YORKTOWN. 

ON  the  22d  of  April,  Franklin's  division  of  Mc 
Dowell's  First  Corps  was  added  to  our  forces,  and  the 
next  day,  April  23d,  General  Henry  M.  Naglee  took 
command  of  our  brigade,  relieving  Colonel  Davis,  who 
resumed  command  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Pennsylvania.  The  position  of  the  Union  forces  was 
now  as  follows :  on  the  right  Heintzelman's  Third  Corps ; 
in  the  centre  Sumner's  Second  Corps ;  on  the  left  Keyes's 
Fourth  Corps  of  three  divisions, — Smith  on  the  right, 
Casey  in  the  centre,  and  Couch  on  the  left.  On  April 
29th  Naglee's  brigade  made  a  reconnoissance  in  front  of 
Lee's  Mills,  and  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy  developed 
the  fact  that  they  were  still  there  in  force.  On  May  ist, 
as  the  siege  guns  were  about  ready  to  open  fire  upon  their 
works,  the  enemy  was  discovered  to  be  falling  back,  and 
on  May  4th  the  brigade  moved  from  camp  and  advanced 
in  line  of  battle  towards  their  works,  soon  ascertaining 
that  they  were  evacuated.  The  line  then  broke  into 
column  and  took  the  road  passing  through  their  line 
of  works.  The  enemy  had  planted  torpedoes  in  this 
roadway.  One  of  them  was  exploded  by  a  private  named 
John  Pruyne,  in  Company  F  of  the  Fifty-second,  step 
ping  on  it,  and  he  was  instantly  killed,  while  nine  others 
of  the  same  company  w^ere  more  or  less  wounded. 
Colonel  Dodge,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hoyt,  and  Company 
A  of  the  Fifty-second  had  passed  before  the  explosion 
took  place. 

More  of  the  dastardly  things  were  discovered  in  the 

30 


r 


a 

0' 


HENRY  M.  NAGLEE 

Brigadier-General. 
Commander  of  "  Naglee's  Brigade.' 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

roadway,  evidenced  by  little  heaps  of  fresh  dirt  where 
they  were  planted,  and  guards  were  stationed  at  each  one 
discovered  to  prevent  the  troops  from  stepping  on  them 
as  they  passed.  Southern  writers  have  attempted  to 
prove  that  their  side  never  resorted  to  such  low-down 
warfare  as  planting  sub-terra  shells  in  roadways,  but 
Jeff.  Davis,  in  his  "  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederacy  " 
(vol.  ii,  p.  97),  mentions  their  employment  to  check  a 
marching  column,  quoting  from  General  Rains's  report 
of  this  very  retreat,  as  follows:  "  Fortunately,"  says 
Rains,  "  we  found  in  a  mud-hole  a  broken  ammunition 
wagon  containing  five  loaded  shells.  Four  of  these, 
armed  with  a  sensitive  fuse  primer,  were  planted  in  our 
rear,"  etc.  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  says,  in  his  re 
view  of  the  campaign  entitled  "  Manassas  to  Seven 
Pines"  (Century  Magazine),  "Such  an  occurrence 
would  have  been  known  to  the  whole  army,  but  it  was 
not;  so  it  must  have  been  a  dream  of  the  writer."  We 
found  it  no  "  dream  "  when  our  boys  were  blown  to  pieces 
by  the  dastardly  contrivance. 

This  distressing  episode  did  not  long  delay  our  ad 
vance,  and  Naglee's  column  went  forward  on  the  road 
towards  Williamsburg.  Just  as  it  was  debouching  into 
the  main  road  from  Yorktown,  Heintzelman's  column 
came  up,  and  he,  being  the  senior  officer,  claimed  the 
advance.  The  division  was  halted  so  long  by  passing 
troops  that  it  went  into  camp  for  the  night.  Next  morn 
ing  it  went  forward,  reaching  Cheesecake  Church  at  10 
A.M.  At  this  time  Hooker  was  hotly  engaged  about  two 
miles  farther  on,  where  the  enemy  had  thrown  up  earth 
works  and  constructed  rifle-pits,  redoubts,  etc.,  across  the 
narrow  peninsula  in  front  of  Williamsburg,  determined 

31 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

there  to  put  a  stop  to  our  triumphant  march  towards 
Richmond.  The  rain  was  pouring  steadily  down  as  the 
troops  advanced,  and  the  mud  was  getting  deeper  and 
deeper  as  they  churned  it  up  with  their  tramp,  tramp, 
tramp,  towards  the  firing  line  ahead.  The  brigade  was 
halted  in  the  woods  within  hearing  of  the  battle  going  on 
in  front,  and  the  trees  felled  for  defence,  showing  that  it 
was  being  held  as  reserve  instead  of  being  put  into  the 
fight.  In  the  afternoon  the  order  to  go  forward  came, 
but,  before  half  of  the  distance  had  been  covered,  the 
order  was  changed,  and  Naglee  was  directed  to  double- 
quick  his  troops  to  support  Hancock  on  the  right.  The 
right  of  our  line  was  two  miles  away,  and  double-quicking 
through  well-trodden  Virginia  fields  took  some  time,  as 
well  as  "  taking  the  tuck  out "  of  the  boys,  but  they 
"  got  there "  in  time  to  support  Hancock  in  his  final 
charge,  which  cleared  the  field  and  rifle-pits  in  front  of 
the  rebel  works,  ending  the  day  with  victory  perched 
upon  our  banners. 

The  drizzling  rain  continued  long  into  the  night.  The 
ambulances  and  stretchers  brought  in  their  loads  of 
wounded  heroes  gathered  from  the  bloody  field,  to  be 
treated  as  best  they  could  be  by  the  surgeons*  knives  and 
probes  and  bandages,  then  laid  aside  to  suffer,  perhaps  to 
die.  During  the  night  it  cleared  off  with  a  cold  wind 
from  the  northwest,  chilling  the  weary,  wet,  and  mud- 
bedraggled  soldiers,  sleeping — or  vainly  trying  to  sleep 
with  their  arms  in  their  hands — in  the  woods  and  on  the 
fields  where  they  had  marched  and  fought  and  many 
of  their  comrades  had  fallen.  During  the  night  the 
enemy  withdrew ;  perhaps  "  skedaddled  "  would  better 
describe  it,  for  they  went  in  haste,  leaving  their  dead  on 

32 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

the  field  and  the  town  of  Williamsburg  filled  with  their 
wounded.  Nearly  every  house  was  a  temporary  hospital. 
Our  medical  department  also  took  possession  of  some  of 
the  churches,  school  and  college  buildings  of  Williams- 
burg  for  hospital  purposes.  Our  losses  for  the  day 
McClellan  reported  as  2228  killed  and  wounded.  The 
enemy's  loss  was  no  doubt  less,  as  they  fought  behind 
earthworks,  rifle-pits,  and  felled  timber,  which  our  men 
attacked  in  the  open,  and  charged  upon  again  and  again 
during  the  day. 

Burying  the  dead,  drying  out  a  soaked  army,  and  await 
ing  supply  trains  which  were  dragging  along  the  muddy 
roads  in  the  rear  occupied  several  days.  Naglee's  bri 
gade  started  forward  again  on  the  morning  of  May  Qth, 
and  on  the  loth  reached  Roper's  Church,  where  it  re 
mained  the  nth  and  I2th,  the  main  army  moving  by  the 
narrow  roads,  which  were  so  blocked  by  cavalry,  artil 
lery,  troops,  and  trains  as  to  render  progress  very  slow. 
At  least  the  enemy  were  given  plenty  of  time  to  get  back 
to  Richmond  and  prepare  for  the  oncoming  of  McClel- 
lan's  army.  On  the  I3th  the  march  was  resumed,  and 
to  make  up  lost  time  was  continued  until  after  mid 
night,  camping  at  New  Kent  C.  H.,  on  the  I4th,  and 
remained  there  until  the  I7th,  when  it  went  on  to  Balti 
more  Cross  Roads,  remaining  there  the  i8th, — Sunday, 
a  day  of  rest.  On  Monday,  May  ipth,  camped  about 
seven  miles  east  of  Dispatch  Station  on  the  York  River 
Railroad. 

It  may  be  proper  to  state  here  that  on  the   i8th 

McClellan  had  created  two  more  army  corps, — the  Fifth 

Corps,  under  Fitz  John  Porter,  composed  of  Porter's 

division  (now  under  Morell),  Sykes's  regulars,  and  the 

3  33 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

reserve  artillery;  and  the  Sixth  Corps,  under  Franklin, 
composed  of  Smith's  division,  taken  from  Keyes's  Fourth 
Corps,  together  with  Franklin's  division  now  under 
Slocum.  Casey's  division  now  became  the  Second  Divis 
ion  of  Keyes's  Fourth  Corps,  and  with  Couch's  First 
Division  moved  on  together,  but  with  Casey  generally 
in  the  advance  and  Naglee's  brigade  leading. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


KEYES'S  CORPS  bivouacked  on  May  2Oth  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Chickahominy  opposite  Bottoms  Bridge.  On 
that  day  General  Naglee  organized  a  company  of  sharp 
shooters  from  one  hundred  picked  men  of  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania,  which  he  placed  under  command 
of  Captain  Greenleaf  P.  Davis,  of  Company  E.  These 
sharp-shooters  were  from  the  lumber  districts  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  were  splendid  marksmen.  Supported  by 
the  brigade  they  were  immediately  pushed  to  the  front 
to  make  a  reconnoissance  to  the  Chickahominy  River. 
Colonel  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  who  had  command  of  this 
movement,  describes  it  (in  his  History  of  the  One  Hun 
dred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  Regiment)  as  follows : 

"  In  the  evening  (May  igth)  I  received  orders  to  have 
my  regiment  under  arms  early  the  next  morning  for  a 
reconnoissance  toward  the  Chickahominy.  The  force 
detailed  was  composed  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth, 
one  hundred  picked  men  of  the  Fifty-second,  and  two 
companies  of  the  Eleventh  Maine.  We  marched  up 
the  railroad  to  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  river, 
which  is  here  twelve  miles  from  Richmond,  and  is 
crossed  by  a  trestle  bridge.  The  enemy  occupied  the 
opposite  bank,  and  had  fired  the  bridge,  which  was 
still  burning.  The  part  spanning  the  stream,  about 
sixty  feet  in  length,  was  destroyed.  A  halt  was 
ordered  to  reconnoitre  the  position  of  the  enemy  and 
ascertain  his  probable  strength.  The  river  is  bordered  by 
a  deep  swamp,  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber 

35 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

and  an  almost  impenetrable  thicket.  .  .  .  When  the 
little  battalion  I  led  took  up  its  position,  the  guns  opened 
on  us  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  and  kept  up  the 
fire  most  of  the  day.  Two  of  our  batteries  came  down 
and  replied,  four  pieces  occupied  the  hill  in  our  rear,  three 
to  our  right  on  the  edge  of  the  railroad,  and  two  just 
to  our  left  and  rear  in  the  road  that  leads  down  to  Bot 
toms  Bridge.  There  we  were  obliged  to  stand  for  hours, 
our  own  guns  firing  over  us  and  the  enemy  at  us,  without 
a  chance  of  replying.  We  were  very  fortunate  in  escap 
ing  casualties.  The  troops  returned  to  camp  about  dark, 
with  only  the  loss  of  one  man  of  the  Fifty-second 
wounded."  The  man  wounded  was  Sid.  Taylor,  of  Com 
pany  G;  so  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  shed  the  first 
blood  on  the  Chickahominy. 

Colonel  Davis  may  have  been  mistaken  about  the  rail 
road  bridge  being  partly  burned  at  that  time.  Comrade 
Wm.  McClave,  who  was  at  that  time  first  sergeant  of 
Company  K  of  the  Fifty-second,  says  that  himself  and 
Corporal  Hugh  R.  Crawford,  of  the  same  company, 
went  out  as  volunteers  on  this  reconnoissance,  and  were 
together  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  bridge  when  the  rebels 
were  trying  to  set  fire  to  it  at  the  other  end  of  a  long 
trestle  which  carried  the  bridge  over  the  low  swampy 
ground  beyond  the  river  to  the  high  ground ;  that  he  had 
a  Sharpe's  carbine  (loaned  for  the  occasion  from  Lieu 
tenant  John  A.  Hennessy)  which  would  carry  to  the 
farther  end  of  the  trestle,  which  a  musket  would  not  do 
with  any  certainty,  and  that  with  this  rifle  they  pre 
vented  the  rebels  from  setting  fire  to  the  far  end  of  the 
trestle  until  General  Naglee  came  down  with  a  battery 
and  drove  the  enemy  away,  thus  saving  the  bridge.  The 

36 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

enemy  had,  however,  destroyed  the  bridge  on  the  wagon- 
road  farther  down  the  river  known  as  "  Bottoms  Bridge," 
but  it  was  repaired  and  pieced  out  with  logs  the  next  day 
— May  2  ist — sufficiently  for  a  crossing,  and  Captain 
Davis  with  his  sharp-shooters,  followed  by  Colonel  Davis 
with  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth,  went  across  that 
afternoon.  Colonel  Davis  says :  "  The  One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  was  the  first  entire  regiment  that  crossed  the 
Chickahominy,  but  a  few  detached  companies  of  skir 
mishers  preceded  it  over  the  same  afternoon,  May  2ist." 
These  skirmishers  were  Capt.  Davis  with  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  sharp-shooters.  The  Fifty-second  went 
over  also,  and  on  the  23d  these  two  regiments  threw 
up  a  long  line  of  entrenchments  about  the  head  of  the 
bridge  facing  towards  Richmond,  having  previously  made 
a  reconnoissance  toward  White  Oak  Swamp  without  dis 
covering  the  enemy  in  that  direction. 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d  General  Naglee  was  selected 
by  General  Keyes  to  carry  out  the  following  order  he 
had  received  from  General  McClellan: 

''  Your  instructions  for  the  reconnoissance  to-day  are 
as  follows :  You  will,  if  possible,  advance  to  the  Seven 
Pines,  or  the  forks  of  the  direct  road  to  Richmond,  and 
the  road  turning  to  the  right  into  the  road  leading  from 
New  Bridge  to  Richmond  (Nine  Mile  road)  and  hold  that 
point  if  practicable  without  incurring  too  much  danger." 

"  In  obedience  to  these  instructions,"  says  General 
Naglee  in  his  official  report,  "  on  the  rainy  morning  of  the 
24th,  leaving  the  Eleventh  Maine,  Fifty-sixth  and  One 
Hundredth  New  York  in  camp,  the  other  regiments  of 
my  brigade,  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  Colonel 
Dodge,  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania, 

37 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Colonel  Davis,  were  in  motion  at  an  early  hour.  At  8 
o'clock  they  were  joined  by  Mink's  Battery  H,  First  New 
York  Artillery,  and  Regan's  Seventh  Independent  New 
York  Battery,  under  command  of  Colonel  Bailey. 
Gregg's  Cavalry  did  not  report  until  i  o'clock  P.M.  The 
column  was  formed  and  in  motion  by  9  A.M.  Leading 
out  the  Williamsburg  road  we  encountered  the  first  picket 
of  the  enemy  at  the  Creek  run  (Boar  swamp)  about  one 
and  a  half  miles  from  Bottoms  Bridge.  These  retired 
as  our  skirmishers  approached,  but  they  increased  rapidly 
as  we  advanced.  About  10  o'clock  a  deserter  was  taken 
to  head-quarters  of  General  Keyes,  and  a  courier  de 
spatched  for  me  to  return,  that  I  should  ascertain  that  the 
forces  in  my  front  were  Hatton's  brigade  of  five  regi 
ments  of  Tennessee  infantry,  two  batteries  and  a  portion 
of  Stuart's  cavalry,  all  under  command  of  General  Stuart. 
Returning  to  my  command  at  12  M.,  I  deployed  the 
Fifty-second  on  the  right  of  the  Williamsburg  road  and 
extended  it  across  the  railroad.  The  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  was  deployed  to  the  left  of  the  Williamsburg 
road  without  much  resistance,  and  we  pressed  forward 
until  we  came  to  the  wood  next  beyond  Savage  Station, 
where  the  enemy  was  prepared  to  resist  our  further  ad 
vance.  Regan's  battery  was  placed  in  position  in  the 
front  edge  of  the  timber  on  the  right  of  the  road,  and 
shelled  the  wood  on  the  left  of  the  road,  which  was  about 
six  hundred  yards  from  the  battery;  this  wood  extended 
about  four  hundred  yards  along  the  road  and  terminated 
in  a  line  perpendicular  with  it,  which  line  produced  across 
the  road  was  the  commencement  of  the  wood  on  the 
right  of  the  road  parallel  to  which  the  Fifty-second  had 
been  deployed,  and  toward  which  it  was  ordered  to 

38 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

advance  until  it  should  be  protected  by  some  houses  and 
some  sheds,  and  an  orchard  and  a  fence,  three  hundred 
yards  from  the  wood.  This  movement  of  the  Fifty- 
second  with  the  shelling  from  Regan's  battery  lessened 
materially  the  firing  of  the  enemy  on  the  left,  and  the 
One  Hundred  and  Fourth  was  ordered  forward. 

"  Our  attention  was  now  directed  to  the  wood  in  front 
of  the  Fifty-second  where  the  fire  was  increasing,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  to  the  batteries  of  the  enemy  which 
some  time  before  had  opened,  and  had  been  directing  their 
fire  upon  our  batteries  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth. 
From  the  front  of  the  wood  now  occupied  by  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fourth,  I  discovered  that  the  line  of  battle 
of  the  enemy  was  formed  just  within  the  edge  of  the 
wood  which  crosses  the  Williamsburg  road  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  Seven  Pines  corner;  that  his  artillery  was 
in  front  near  the  house  on  the  left  of  the  road,  supported 
by  infantry  lying  in  the  hollow,  and  that  the  wood  in 
front  of  the  Fifty-second  on  the  right  of  the  road  was 
occupied  by  a  regiment  of  skirmishers.  Bringing  the 
oblique  fire  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  to  assist 
the  direct  fire  of  the  Fifty-second,  I  pushed  forward  the 
Eighty-fifth  Pennsylvania  along  and  behind  the  railroad 
and  ordered  the  Fifty-second  to  advance  from  the  fence 
and  buildings  directly  into  the  wood  in  front  of  it. 

'  This  combined  movement  forced  the  enemy  to  leave 
precipitately  the  wood  on  the  right.  It  was  now  about 
half-past  four  P.M.  ;  the  batteries  of  the  enemy  had 
annoyed  us  considerably  and  it  became  necessary  to  drive 
them  from  their  position.  The  sharp-shooters  of  the 
Fifty-second,  selected  from  men  that  had  lived  with  the 
rifle  constantly  beside  them  in  the  lumbering  counties  of 

39 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Pennsylvania,  were  ordered  forward  under  Captain 
Davis;  at  the  same  time  a  section  of  Mink's  battery  was 
added  to  Regan's.  Having  thus  advanced  all  right,  we 
soon  corrected  the  ranges  of  our  artillery,  and  within 
half  an  hour  the  effects  were  apparent :  the  artillery  of  the 
enemy  could  not  longer  stand  against  the  fire  of  our 
artillery  and  sharp-shooters  and  were  compelled  to  with 
draw.  At  the  same  time  I  discovered  an  unsteadiness  in 
the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and  I  hurried  forward  Gregg's 
cavalry,  followed  by  the  remaining  two  sections  of  Mink's 
battery,  which  were  brought  into  action  within  four  hun 
dred  yards  of  the  enemy's  line,  supported  by  the  Eighty- 
fifth  New  York  and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Perlnsyl- 
vania,  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  being  on  the  right; 
these  movements  threw  the  enemy  into  disorder,  and 
Gregg  was  ordered  to  charge ;  but,  after  proceeding  some 
two  hundred  yards,  he  received  a  volley  from  some  skir 
mishers  that  occupied  a  thicket  on  the  right  of  the  road, 
and  he  dismounted  his  command,  fired  his  carbines,  and 
wheeled  into  a  depression  in  the  ground.  I  was  prepar 
ing  to  follow  with  skirmishers  and  to  order  a  second  cav 
alry  charge  when  an  aide  of  General  Keyes  brought 
orders  from  him  that  no  further  pursuit  should  be  made, 
lest  I  should  bring  on  a  general  engagement. 

"  The  troops  slept  on  the  wet  ground,  for  it  had  rained 
all  day,  in  the  exposed  position  last  above  indicated,  and 
the  picket  guard  for  the  night,  which  was  necessarily  a 
heavy  one,  was  undisturbed.  The  pickets  put  out  that 
night  on  strange  ground  by  the  field  officers  of  the  Fifty- 
second,  owing  to  the  exposure  in  front  and  on  both 
flanks,  extended  six  miles.  In  the  meantime,  discover 
ing  none  of  the  enemy  in  force  on  either  of  my  flanks,  the 

40 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

next  day  (the  25th)  at  12  M.,  I  ordered  Captain  Davis, 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  to  extend  his  sharp-shooters 
between  the  Williamsburg  road  and  the  railroad  and  to 
advance  cautiously  and  so  slowly  that  his  advance  could 
hardly  be  discovered.  At  4  P.M.,  having  gained  a  mile 
and  feeling  that  the  enemy  would  resist  in  force  any 
further  advance,  I  took  the  Eleventh  Maine,  that  had 
joined  me,  the  Fifty-second  and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth, 
and  two  sections  of  Bailey's  artillery  and  moved  forward 
to  meet  any  resistance  the  enemy  might  oppose  to  Captain 
Davis.  We  had  scarcely  started  when  a  dispatch  was 
received  indicating  that  the  enemy  was  assembling  in 
front.  Hurrying  past  the  Seven  Pines  I  found  Davis's 
sharp-shooters  occupying  the  front  of  the  wood  some  five 
hundred  yards  beyond  the  pines,  that  the  lines  extended 
perpendicular  to  the  Williamsburg  road  and  across  to 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Fair  Oaks  Station  on  the  rail 
road,  and  that  the  enemy  was  forming  in  the  open  field 
beyond  the  wood-pile.  I  immediately  ordered  the  artil 
lery  to  open  upon  the  enemy,  advanced  the  picket  line  to 
that  of  the  sharp-shooters,  and  ordered  the  Eleventh 
Maine  and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  to  show  themselves 
as  supporting  them.  The  shells  thrown  over  the  wood 
were  most  fortunate  in  their  range  and  direction,  and  the 
enemy  dispersed. 

"  On  the  following  day  (the  26th  of  May),  by  3  A.M. 
the  remaining  regiments  of  my  brigade  were  already 
in  position  to  support  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  and 
the  picket  line  established  by  the  Eleventh  Maine  and  the 
Fifty-second.  At  6  A.M.,  a  rebel  force  of  two  regiments 
of  infantry,  one  of  cavalry,  and  a  battery  approached,  but 
it  avoided  my  picket  line,  kept  beyond  range,  and  soon 

4i 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

after  disappeared,  evidently  reconnoitring  our  position. 
/  then  ordered  Captain  Davis  to  advance  another  mile, 
which  he  did  without  opposition,  and  which  brought  our 
picket  line  to  the  distance  of  about  five  miles  from  Rich 
mond,  which  was  as  near  as  I  deemed  it  prudent  to  go. 
On  the  following  day,  with  a  portion  of  Davis's  sharp 
shooters  the  line  on  the  right  was  advanced  from  the 
road  to  Michie's  to  the  Nine  Mile  road  and  Garnet's 
field,  and  then  along  Garnet's  field  to  the  Chickahominy. 
In  this  extended  reconnoissance  of  four  days  the  troops 
behaved  admirably,  and  especial  thanks  are  due  to 
Colonels  Bailey,  Davis,  Dodge,  Howell,  Plaisted,  and 
Jordan,  and  to  Captain  Davis  and  his  sharp-shooters 
who  contributed  more  than  any  other  to  the  successful 
advance  of  our  lines  from  Bottoms  Bridge,  nine  miles,  to 
the  most  advanced  line  held  before  Richmond." 


42 


\ 

w 


CHAPTER  V. 

BATTLE  OF  FAIR  OAKS. 

"  DURING  the  night  of  the  27th/'  says  Col.  Davis, 
"  there  was  some  unusual  stir  among  the  enemy  in  our 
immediate  front.  The  rumble  of  wagons  and  artillery 
carriages  and  the  words  of  command  of  officers  could 
be  distinctly  heard  and  lasted  several  hours."  It  is  prob 
able  the  enemy  were  then  making  new  dispositions  in 
preparation  for  the  battle  which  took  place  on  the  3ist. 
The  positions  of  our  advance  were  also  changed  some 
what  in  the  next  two  days,  Naglee's  brigade  being  moved 
to  the  right,  extending  one  regiment  (the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania)  across  the  railroad  in  front  of  Fair  Oaks. 
Davis  says:  "  On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  camp  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  was  moved  over  to  the 
Nine  Mile  road,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  right  of  our 
old  position,  and  on  the  same  ground  where  the  Fifty- 
second  had  been  encamped.  The  day  before  General 
Keyes  had  ordered  Casey  to  move  forward  the  other  two 
brigades  of  his  division  to  the  clearing  around  Fair  Oaks, 
which  was  the  occasion  of  our  change  of  location."  As 
a  support  to  the  pickets  along  Garnet's  field,  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania  encamped  on  the  right  of  the  Nine 
Mile  road,  half  a  mile  beyond  Fair  Oaks.  No  other 
regiment  encamped  so  near  Richmond,  and  the  picket 
line,  extending  from  White  Oak  Swamp  to  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  was  never  advanced  beyond  the  ground  won  by 
Captain  Davis  of  the  Fifty-second  and  his  sharp-shooters. 
General  Naglee  had  been  intrusted  with  the  building  of  a 
bridge  over  the  Chickahominy  at  a  point  opposite  where 

43 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Sumner's  corps  was  located  on  the  left  side  of  the  stream, 
in  order  to  open  means  of  communication  with  the  bulk 
of  the  army — three  corps — still  on  that  side.  For  this 
purpose  the  whole  pioneer  corps  of  his  brigade,  with 
heavy  details,  under  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hoyt,  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  was  sent  with 
instructions  for  its  construction.  The  point  selected  was 
at  this  time  above  and  outside  our  lines,  and  our  troops 
on  the  left  bank,  hearing  the  work,  opened  fire  on  the 
party  and  sent  two  regiments  to  drive  it  away.  Work  on 
this  bridge — called  the  Grapevine  bridge — was  vigorously 
pushed,  so  that  it  was  passable  on  the  3ist  of  May,  the 
day  of  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  enabling  Sumner  to  cross 
and  stem  the  tide  of  battle  on  our  right  that  eventful 
afternoon  and  evening.  The  bridge  constructed  by  Sum 
ner,  farther  down,  was  rendered  impassable  by  the  heavy 
rain  and  flood  of  the  night  before,  which  prevented 
Richardson's  division  of  Sumner's  corps  from  reaching 
the  field  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  first  day's  fighting. 

"  At  this  time,"  May  3Oth, — says  General  McClellan, 
in  his  report  (p.  108), — "  Casey's  division  was  disposed 
as  follows :  Naglee's  brigade,  extending  from  the 
Williamsburg  road  to  Garnet's  field,  having  one  regiment 
(the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania)  across  the  railroad, 
General  Wessell's  brigade  in  the  rifle-pits,  and  General 
Palmer's  in  the  rear  of  Wessell's,  one  battery  of  artillery 
in  advance  with  Naglee,  one  battery  in  rear  of  rifle-pits 
to  the  right  of  redoubt,  one  battery  in  rear  of  redoubt,  and 
another  battery  unharnessed  in  the  redoubt."  In  the  sec 
ond  line  was  Couch's  division  at  the  Seven  Pines,  half 
a  mile  in  the  rear,  Kearney's  division  from  Savage's  sta 
tion  on  the  railroad  to  the  Chickahominy.  Hooker's 

44 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

division  was  near  the  edge  of  White  Oak  Swamp,  to 
watch  the  crossing.  The  other  three  corps  of  the  army 
— Sumner,  Porter,  and  Franklin — were  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Chickahominy.  General  McClellan  had  his  head 
quarters  near  those  of  Porter  and  Franklin,  both  of 
whom  he  had  lately  created  corps  commanders  and  with 
whom  he  kept  in  close  personal  touch,  while  it  is  claimed 
he  had  no  personal  relations  with  Sumner,  the  senior 
corps  commander,  whom  he  treated  with  coolness  if  not 
with  disrespect. 

On  the  night  of  May  3Oth  a  fearful  storm  prevailed. 
Rain  fell  in  torrents.  The  country  was  flooded;  the 
Chickahominy  overflowed  its  banks,  the  swampy  ground 
through  which  that  stream  flowed  became  impassable, 
and  the  bridges  were  so  much  damaged  as  to,  for  a  time, 
practically  isolate  the  two  corps — Keyes's  and  Heintzel- 
man's — from  the  other  three  corps  with  McClellan  on  the 
left  bank. 

"  Aware  of  our  difficulties,"  says  McClellan  in  his 
account,  "  our  active  enemy,  on  the  3ist  of  May,  made  a 
violent  attack  upon  Casey's  division,  followed  by  an 
equally  formidable  one  on  Couch,  thus  commencing  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks.  Heintzelman  came  up  in  support, 
and  Sumner  crossed  the  river  with  great  difficulty  and 
rendered  such  efficient  service  that  the  enemy  was 
checked." 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Confederates  to  annihilate 
the  two  corps  thus  isolated,  of  which  Keyes's  corps,  with 
Casey's  division  in  the  advance,  was  within  five  or  six 
miles  of  Richmond.  General  Jos.  E.  Johnston  was  in 
command  of  the  Confederate  army  in  front  of  Richmond, 
composed  of  twenty-eight  brigades,  of  which  twenty- two 

45 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

brigades  were  ordered  to  the  attack.  Jeff.  Davis  and 
General  Robert  E.  Lee,  his  military  adviser,  were  on  the 
field  to  advise  and  direct  the  movements.  Generals 
Longstreet,  D.  H.  Hill,  Huger,  and  Gustavus  W.  Smith 
(with  the  latter  of  whom  General  Johnston  made  head 
quarters)  led  the  rebel  hosts  to  deliver  the  "  crushing 
blow." 

General  Francis  A.  Walker,  of  Couch's  corps,  says 
Johnston's  plan  of  attack  was  as  follows: 

"  Huger,  commanding  his  right  column,  was  to  move 
well  down  the  Charles  City  road  and  then  push  in  rapidly 
and  fiercely  upon  Keyes's  left  and  rear.  Longstreet  and 
Hill  were  at  a  given  signal  to  attack  in  front  down  the 
Williamsburg  stage  road.  G.  W.  Smith  was  to  attack 
the  Union  right  at  Fair  Oaks  Station,  and,  after  driving 
it  in,  to  seize  the  road  by  which  Sumner  might  advance 
from  over  the  river  to  the  support  of  the  Fourth  Corps. 
Huger's  movement  miscarried,  but  Longstreet  and  Hill 
(about  one  o'clock  P.M.)  burst  upon  Casey's  division 
with  great  fury."  Their  thickly  swarming  brigades  flung 
themselves  upon  our  lines  in  front  and  both  flanks  with 
a  desperate  courage  born  of  a  belief  that  circumstances 
had  at  last  placed  a  wing  of  McClellan's  army  helpless 
at  their  mercy.  As  daring  as  was  the  advance  not  less 
obstinate  was  the  resistance.  Keyes,  Casey,  Naglee, 
Couch,  Peck,  and  others  threw  themselves  into  the  very 
front  of  the  battle.  Generals  and  colonels  acted  as  file 
closers  or  rallied  and  led  forward  the  troops  to  resist  the 
progress  of  the  enemy  down  the  Williamsburg  road.  So 
stubborn  was  this  resistance  that  at  nightfall  the  Confed 
erates  who  had  begun  the  action  with  an  overwhelming 
success,  had  only  been  able  to  push  our  troops  back  to 

46 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

the  intrenchments  or  rifle-pits  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  front,  where  the  tide  of  battle  was  stayed. 

While  the  action  in  front  of  Seven  Pines  on  the  Wil- 
liamsburg  road  was  in  full  progress  and  before  the  Con 
federates  had  crossed  the  Nine  Mile  road,  General  Keyes 
ordered  Couch  to  proceed  to  Fair  Oaks  to  meet  the  an 
ticipated  movement  of  the  enemy  against  our  right  wing, 
which  was  "  in  the  air,"  there  being  no  troops  except  a 
thin  picket  line  between  it  and  the  Chickahominy.  Aber- 
crombie  was  near  Fair  Oaks  with  two  regiments  and  a 
battery,  and  Couch  took  two  more  regiments  to  their  aid, 
but  soon  they  were  caught  in  the  storm  of  battle  and,  in 
spite  of  the  gallantry  of  officers  and  men,  the  whole  line 
was  pressed  steadily  back.  Crossing  the  Nine  Mile  road, 
the  Confederates  bore  down  on  the  Union  right  flank  with 
continually  increasing  force.  The  position  of  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania,  a  half-mile  to  the  right  and  front 
of  Fair  Oaks,  brought  it  into  action  on  a  different  part 
of  the  field  from  that  of  the  other  regiments  of  the  bri 
gade,  and  at  a  somewhat  later  hour.  Two  companies 
were  on  the  picket  line,  and  a  heavy  detail  upon  the 
Chickahominy  bridge  with  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hoyt,  as 
previously  stated.  It  moved  from  its  camp  in  line  of 
battle  towards  Seven  Pines,  and  at  first  held  the  extreme 
right.  By  the  time  it  had  become  engaged  the  enemy 
had  turned  the  left  flank  and  had  broken  through  on  the 
Williamsburg  road.  General  Naglee,  who  had  been  up 
on  this  part  of  the  field,  in  his  official  report  says :  "  Re 
turning  raoidlv  to  my  Fifty-sixth  New  York,  Eleventh 
Maine,  and  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  my  anticipations 
were  here  realized ;  being  successful  in  turning  our  flank, 
the  enemy  had  opened  a  most  destructive  cross-fire  from 

47 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

pieces  near  the  redoubt,  and  this  with  the  fire  from  their 
immediate  front  was  no  longer  to  be  endured,  and  they 
were  withdrawn,  marched  down  the  Nine  Mile  road,  and 
placed  in  position  in  rear  of  this  road  about  three  hun 
dred  yards  from  the  Seven  Pines,  where  soon  their  ser 
vices  were  required.  In  the  meantime  the  colonel  of 
the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  had  come  upon  the 
ground  occupied  by  Colonel  Dodge  with  the  Fifty-second, 
and  induced  him  to  advance  in  front  and  to  the  right  of 
the  position  that  had  been  assigned  him,  whilst  he, 
Colonel  Neill,  occupied  that  which  the  Fifty-second 
vacated.  But  these  dispositions  were  scarcely  made  be 
fore  the  masses  of  the  enemy  broke  through,  and  a  few 
minutes  sufficed  to  leave  the  half  of  Dodge's  command 
on  the  ground,  and  to  force  Neill  precipitately  from  his 
position.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  Fifty-second 
(for  it  was  now  reduced  to  a  little  over  a  hundred  men) 
was  conducted  along  the  Nine  Mile  road  to  the  Seven 
Pines,  where,  finding  the  rifle-pits  occupied,  they  took 
possession  of  a  fence  and  small  buildings  and  did  most 
effective  service.  Afterwards  they  crossed  to  the  left 
of  Couch's  first  position,  and  advanced  two  hundred 
yards  into  and  along  the  woods  to  the  left  and  front  of 
Seven  Pines,  where  they  remained  actively  employed  until 
near  dark,  when  the  enemy  advancing  rapidly  in  masses 
to  the  rear  of  the  Nine  Mile  road,  inclined  towards  the 
Williamsburg  road,  sweeping  everything  from  the  field, 
our  forces  made  one  general  simultaneous  movement  to 
the  rear,  which  did  not  stop  until  all  had  arrived  at  the 
line  of  defence.  The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  being 
so  far  to  the  front,  had  their  line  of  retreat  cut  off,  and 
escaped  by  passing  through  the  woods  to  the  left  and  rear 

48 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

of  the  saw-mill  at  the  White  Oak  swamp,  and  thence  to 
the  line  above  referred  to,  where  they  rejoined  their  com 
rades  of  the  First  Brigade." 

The  two  companies  on  the  picket  line,  and  the  pioneers 
on  the  Chickahominy  under  Colonel  Hoyt,  reported  to 
General  Sumner,  when  he  arrived  on  the  ground,  and  in 
the  language  of  his  official  report,  "  remained  with  him 
until  Sunday,  rendering  most  valuable  service  and  behav 
ing  well." 

And  now,  having  outlined  the  battle  on  the  Williams- 
burg  road,  and  followed  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania 
through  its  conspicuous  part  in  the  sanguinary  scenes  on 
that  part  of  the  field,  let  us  return  to  the  right  under 
Couch  near  Fair  Oaks,  where  a  most  momentous  strug 
gle  took  place,  which,  with  the  aid  of  part  of  the  Second 
Corps  under  Sumner,  coming  across  with  Sedgwick's 
division,  from  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  with 
Kirby's  battery  lifted,  lugged,  and  dragged  through  the 
mud  along  with  him,  turned  the  tide  on  that  part  of  the 
battle-field  into  a  most  disastrous  defeat  for  the  enemy. 

The  Confederates  under  General  Gustavus  W.  Smith, 
composing  the  left  wing  of  their  forces,  and  having  with 
them  General  Jos.  E.  Johnston,  their  commander-in-chief, 
had  been  delayed  in  carrying  out  their  part  of  the  "  plan," 
but  late  in  the  afternoon  had  pushed  Couch  back  to  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Adams  House,  not  far  from  Fair 
Oaks  Station,  where  he  was  manfully  holding  on  in 
hopes  of  being  reinforced  from  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  General  F.  A.  Walker  says : 

"  It  was  5  o'clock  when  the  head  of  Sedgwick's  column, 
issuing  from  a  belt  of  wood,  saw  in  front  Couch's 
four  regiments  still  massed  at  the  Adams  House,  uncer- 
4  49 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

tain  whether  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  would  enable 
them  to  hold  their  position,  or  whether  they  should  be 
obliged  to  attempt  to  cut  their  way  through  to  rejoin  the 
rest  of  their  corps  along  the  Williamsburg  road.  Couch's 
timely  withdrawal  to  the  Adams  House  had  not  only 
saved  his  command  from  immediate  destruction,  but  had 
deterred  Whiting's  (Confederate)  division  from  passing 
across  his  front  to  attack  Keyes's  right.  Uncertain  as 
to  Couch's  numbers,  Whiting  had  called  in  four  brigades 
— his  own,  Hatton's,  Hampton's,  and  Pettigrew's — to 
attack  our  troops  at  the  Adams  House,  while  Hood's 
Texan  brigade  was  halted  on  its  way  to  attack  Keyes, 
awaiting  the  issue  of  the  impending  contest  at  Fair  Oaks. 
These  dispositions  had  consumed  the  time  which  enabled 
Sedgwick's  column  to  reach  the  field.  Hardly,  however, 
had  the  first  four  regiments  of  Sedgwick — the  First  Min 
nesota,  Fifteenth  Massachusetts,  Thirty-fourth  and 
Eighty-second  New  York — been  thrown  into  line  on  the 
right  and  left  of  Couch's  brigade;  hardly  had  the  gallant 
Kirby  brought  his  gleaming  Napoleons  into  battery  on 
the  right  of  the  Adams  House,  when  the  storm  burst. 

"  Three  Confederate  brigades  were  heavily  massed 
in  a  body  of  woods  whose  inner  edge  was  held  by  three 
regiments, — the  First  Minnesota  on  the  right,  then  the 
Sixty-fifth  New  York,  then  the  Eighty-second  Pennsyl 
vania, — extending  to  the  road  which  led  from  the  Adams 
House  down  to  Fair  Oaks  Station.  On  our  left  of  this 
road  was  Kirby's  battery,  with  two  guns  of  Brady's  sup 
ported  by  the  Sixty-second  New  York  and  the  Seventh  and 
Fifteenth  Massachusetts.  This  covered  the  whole  front  of 
the  enemy's  attack,  which  did  not  greatly  exceed  four  hun 
dred  yards.  The  action  was  fought  under  the  very  eyes 

50 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

of  Generals  Smith  and  Johnston,  and  the  presence  of  their 
chiefs  inspired  the  Confederate  troops  to  the  most  reso 
lute  and  desperate  exertions.  Again  and  again  did  they 
seek  to  break  through  the  infantry  line  on  the  right  of 
Kirby ;  every  time  they  were  driven  back  by  the  steady  fire 
of  the  three  regiments  stationed  there.  Again  and  again 
they  charged  Kirby 's  battery  in  front,  some  of  the  bravest 
falling  within  fifteen  feet  of  Kirby's  guns;  every  time 
they  were  swept  away  by  the  deadly  discharges  of  canis 
ter,  double-shotted,  which  were  served  them  by  Kirby  and 
his  gallant  Lieutenants  Woodruff  and  French.  The 
Union  line  would  not  be  broken  or  shaken  in  its  stout 
defence. 

"  And  now  the  arrival  of  other  regiments  crowding 
up  from  Grapevine  bridge  enables  General  Sumner  to 
assume  the  aggressive.  The  white-haired  old  chieftain, 
who  has  never  since  the  first  shot  was  fired  been  distant 
ten  yards  from  the  infantry  line,  sends  two  of  Burns's 
Pennsylvania  regiments  to  the  support  of  the  First  Minne 
sota  on  the  right,  where  General  Sedgwick  is  watching  the 
fortunes  of  the  battle,  directs  General  Couch  to  assume 
command  of  the  centre,  and  himself  proceeds  to  form  a 
line  of  battle  on  the  left  at  right  angles  with  that  which 
had  so  long  withstood  the  fierce  assaults  of  the  Confeder 
ates.  For  this  purpose  he  deploys  the  Fifteenth  Massa 
chusetts,  Thirty-fourth  and  Eighty-second  New  York, 
Seventh  Michigan  and  Twentieth  Massachusetts,  and 
leads  them  across  the  front  of  the  main  line.  The  charge 
was  timely  and  it  sufficed.  The  Confederates,  heavily 
massed  in  the  woods,  had  suffered  fearfully  from  the 
fire,  both  of  artillery  and  musketry,  to  which  they  had 
been  for  an  hour  subjected.  Twelve  hundred  had  fallen 

51 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

in  their  vain  efforts  to  break  our  line  and  capture  Kirby's 
guns.  General  Hatton  had  been  killed ,  Generals  Hamp 
ton  and  Pettigrew  severely  wounded.  The  charge  of 
Sumner's  new  line,  taking  them  in  the  flank,  was  some 
thing  they  were  ill  prepared  to  resist. 

"  At  first  our  troops  advanced,  firing,  but  they  gath 
ered  inspiration  as  they  went  on;  of  a  sudden  a  sharp 
clatter  along  the  whole  line  told  that  bayonets  were  being 
fixed,  and  with  a  cheer  our  men  sprang  forward  and 
Fair  Oaks  was  won.  The  enemy  sullenly  gave  way; 
General  Pettigrew,  severely  wounded,  was  brought  into 
the  hospital  at  the  Adams  House,  and  three  field  officers, 
with  many  wounded  and  unwounded  prisoners,  and  one, 
or  perhaps  two,  colors  remained  in  our  hands  as  the  fruits 
of  this  victory.  Night  was  now  fast  closing  in,  and 
Generals  Semmes  and  Griffith  had  been  hurriedly 
called  in." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ANOTHER  ACCOUNT   OF  THE   BATTLE. 

ANOTHER  account  of  the  operations  immediately  pre 
ceding  this  battle,  and  a  graphic  description  of  the  battle 
itself,  written  by  Horace  Greeley,  appeared  some  years 
ago  in  the  National  Tribune,  and  is  included  here  as 
corroborative  of  the  part  taken  by  Casey's  division  and 
Naglee's  brigade  (of  which  the  Fifty-second  Pennsyl 
vania  Regiment  formed  a  part).  There  are  some  obvious 
errors  in  his  account,  which  it  is  deemed  best  to  correct 
here  at  the  beginning,  so  it  will  be  read  more  under- 
standingly. 

His  first  error  is  in  stating  that  "  The  first  collision  on 
the  Chickahominy  between  the  advance  of  General  Mc- 
Clellan's  army  and  the  rebels  occurred  May  24th  near 
New  Bridge."  The  first  scrap  was  on  May  2Oth  at  Bot 
toms  Bridge,  in  which  one  hundred  picked  men  of  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  under  Captain  Greenleaf  P. 
Davis,  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  under 
Colonel  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  and  two  companies  of  the 
Eleventh  Maine  were  engaged ;  and  the  first  man  wounded 
was  a  soldier  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  as  stated 
by  Colonel  Davis  in  his  account  of  that  affair  heretofore 
given.  So  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  shed  the  first 
blood  on  the  Chickahominy,  and  the  affair  at  New  Bridge 
on  the  24th  was  not  "  the  first  collision  "  with  the  enemy 
on  that  historic  stream. 

The  next  error  of  Mr.  Greeley  is  where  he  says, 
"  Couch's  division  took  up — May  28th,  by  order — a  posi- 

53 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

tion  some  miles  in  advance,  at  a  place  known  as  Seven 
Pines,  on  the  direct  road  from  Bottoms  Bridge  to  Rich 
mond."  The  fact  is  that  Naglee's  brigade  (and  Casey's 
division)  held  and  occupied  a  position  half  a  mile  or  more 
in  advance  of  that  which  Couch  "  took  up  "  on  the  28th, 
two  or  three  days  previously.  The  error  is  in  giving 
the  impression  that  Couch's  division  "  took  up  a  position 
some  miles  in  advance  "  and  that  Casey's  division  was 
brought  up  afterwards,  when  the  contrary  was  the  case. 

The  next  error  is  that  where  he  says,  "  General  Casey 
ordered  up  General  Naglee's  infantry  brigade,  consist 
ing  of  the  Fifty-sixth  and  One  Hundredth  New  York, 
Eleventh  Maine,  and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsyl 
vania,"  leaving  out  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  en 
tirely.  This  was  no  doubt  purely  an  oversight  of  his. 
An  explanation  of  this  may  be  that  the  Fifty-second  was 
so  far  in  the  advance  that  Greeley's  informant  failed  to 
see  it. 

Another  error  is  in  saying,  "  It  was  a  quarter  past 
three  before  Heintzelman  came  fairly  into  the  fight." 
Colonel  Davis  says,  "  General  Keyes  sent  to  Heintzel 
man  for  reinforcements,  but  his  leading  brigade  did  not 
arrive  until  5  o'clock."  Davis  also  says,  "  Naglee's  bri 
gade,  on  the  right  of  the  first  line,  fought  unaided,  and 
troops  never  made  a  better  defence  against  overpowering 
numbers,  but  he  was  obliged  to  fall  back,  and  for  the 
balance  of  the  day  his  regiments  united  with  those  of  the 
second  line."  The  Confederate  General  Jos.  E.  John 
ston,  in  his  "  Manassas  to  Seven  Pines  "  (see  Century 
Magazine,  vol.  30,  p.  117,  etc.),  says  of  this  part  of  the 
battle:  "  Keyes's  corps  (Casey's  and  Couch's  divisions) 
was  united  at  Seven  Pines  and  reinforced  by  Kearney's 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

division  (Heintzelman's  corps)  coming  from  Savage's 
Station.  But  the  three  divisions  were  so  vigorously 
attacked  by  Hill  that  they  were  broken  and  driven  from 
their  intrenchments,  the  greater  part  along  the  Williams- 
burg  road  to  the  intrenched  line  at  Savage's  Station. 
Two  brigades  of  their  left,  however,  fled  to  White  Oak 
swamp."  These  two  brigades  were  of  Heintzelman's 
corps,  being  Jameson's  and  Berry's  brigades  (Kearney's 
division),  which  had  come  late  on  the  field  and  been 
pushed  up  the  Williamsburg  road,  were  enveloped  by  the 
masses  of  the  enemy  which  came  in  on  their  flank  and 
rear,  and  forced  to  "  take  to  the  woods "  bordering 
White  Oak  swamp  to  escape  capture,  coming  back  from 
the  left  to  the  line  of  intrenchments  held  by  Casey  and 
Couch,  and  to  which  they  had  retired  down  the  Williams- 
burg  road,  late  in  the  evening.  Heintzelman  made  head 
quarters  at  Savage's  house,  and  was  probably  no  nearer 
the  front  than  that,  or  he  would  not  have  sent  that  even 
ing  a  message  to  McClellan  that  "  he  saw  no  reason  why 
we  should  have  been  driven  back."  Colonel  Davis  says 
Heintzelman  "  was  not  in  the  proper  place  to  see  it." 
No  doubt  when  McClellan  learned  that  some  of  Heintzel 
man's  division  had  been  forced  to  flee  towards  White 
Oak  swamp  to  escape,  there  was  at  least  some  reason 
for  Casey  being  driven  back,  and  he  gives  the  reason  in 
his  own  official  report,  in  which  he  says :  "  The  enemy 
came  on  in  heavy  force,  attacking  General  Casey  simul 
taneously  in  front  and  on  both  flanks.  General  Naglee's 
brigade  with  the  batteries  of  General  Casey's  division, 
which  Naglee  directed,  struggled  gallantly  to  maintain  the 
redoubt  and  rifle-pits  against  the  overwhelming  masses 
of  the  enemy.  They  were  reinforced  by  one  regiment 

55 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

from  General  Peck's  brigade.  The  left  of  this  position 
was,  however,  soon  turned,  and  a  sharp  cross-fire  opened 
upon  the  gunners  and  the  men  in  the  rifle-pits;  some  of 
the  guns  in  the  redoubt  were  taken,  and  the  whole  line 
was  driven  back  upon  the  position  occupied  by  General 
Couch." 

Another  error  of  Mr.  Greeley  is  in  his  closing  lines, 
where  he  says,  "  Ten  days  later  we  had  not  recovered  the 
ground  held  by  Casey's  advance  on  the  morning  of  May 
31."  This  is  so  obviously  untrue  that  it  hardly  needs 
contradiction,  but  to  set  at  rest  any  doubts  of  the  matter 
let  us  quote  from  the  account  given  by  the  Confederate 
General  Gustavus  W.  Smith,  who  succeeded  General 
Johnston  in  command  when  the  latter  was  wounded  late 
on  the  evening  of  May  3ist,  and  who  turned  the  com 
mand  over  to  General  R.  E.  Lee  about  2  o'clock  the  next 
day, — Sunday,  June  ist.  In  his  "  The  Second  Day  at 
Seven  Pines  "  (Century  Magazine,  vol.  30,  p.  122,  etc.), 
he  says,  "  During  the  night  of  the  ist  of  June  the  troops 
under  Longstreet  quietly  fell  back  to  resume  their  former 
positions  in  front  of  Richmond.  The  division  under 
Whiting,  on  the  Nine  Mile  road,  remained  for  several 
days  confronting  the  Federal  position  it  had  attacked 
north  of  Fair  Oaks  Station."  It  is  not  probable  that 
Whiting's  division,  after  Longstreet's  withdrawal,  was  on 
the  Nine  Mile  road  much  in  advance  of  Old  Tavern,  and 
he  would  not  have  remained  even  at  that  point  "  several 
days  "  had  not  the  commander  of  the  Federal  army  per 
mitted  him  to  remain.  Our  troops  did  not  reoccupy 
Casey's  camps  again,  but  details  were  sent  there  and  over 
the  battle-field  on  Monday,  June  2d,  to  gather  and  bury 
the  dead,  and  recover  some  of  our  wounded  who  had 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

been  left  on  the  field  Saturday  afternoon,  and  whom 
the  rebels  had  left  behind  when  they  retired  Sunday 
night. 

Among  those  who  went  on  this  sad  errand  was  Chaplain 
Gries,  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania 
(whose  brother,  Major  Gries,  was  mortally  wounded  in  the 
battle  and  died  a  few  days  after),  who  wrote  as  follows  of 
that  experience :  "On  Monday,  hearing  that  the  rebels  had 
retired  during  the  night,  and  that  our  old  camp  and  battle 
ground  at  Fair  Oaks  was  clear,  I  started  to  search  for  the 
wrounded  and  to  bury  the  dead.  When  I  reached  the 
regiment  "  (he  had  been  at  Savage's  Station  caring  for 
and  shipping  away  by  train  the  wounded)  "  Adjutant 
Hart  accompanied  me  with  a  fatigue  party.  We  sepa 
rated  at  the  fork  of  the  Nine  Mile  and  Williamsburg 
roads,  and  divided  the  party.  Close  by  the  house  of 
Seven  Pines  I  found  States,  of  Company  F,  lying  dead. 
His  brother,  who  was  with  me,  recognized,  if  he  did  not 
see  him  first.  We  buried  him  as  decently  as  possible, 
and  then  began  to  look  for  more.  Close  by  we  found  a 
rebel  still  groaning,  with  the  maggots  swarming  in  and 
out  of  a  wound  in  his  head.  In  a  tent  wrere  two  dead 
rebel  officers,  and  outside  was  a  captain  of  a  Michigan 
regiment  with  his  name  pinned  on  his  breast.  At  the  old 
log  house  we  found  a  sad  sight,  as  well  as  along  the  road 
to  it, — dead  soldiers,  Union  and  rebel,  horses  and  broken 
wagons.  In  the  old  house  \vere  dead  and  wounded 
packed  together,  some  of  the  living  hardly  showing  signs 
of  life.  We  ministered  to  them  and  got  them  off  to  the 
rear.  We  then  struck  through  the  wood  toward  the  line 
the  regiment  occupied  in  the  battle,  searching  for  the 
wounded,  but  found  none  except  of  other  regiments. 

57 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

When  we  got  to  the  Fair  Oaks  building,  we  rested  by  the 
wood-pile,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  party  of  our  own  men, 
who  had  gone  that  road  with  Captain  Pickering,  came  up 
to  us  carrying  some  of  our  wounded.  I  procured  an 
ambulance  for  their  relief,  when  we  struck  for  the  regi 
ment.  The  road  was  lined  with  dead  horses,  and  in  the 
fields  Avere  dead  rebels  lying  in  rows  like  the  windrow 
work  of  a  reaper.  The  air  was  loaded  with  stench,  and 
the  sun  was  almost  overpowering.  What  with  this,  and 
the  sights  we  had  seen,  and  the  work  we  had  done,  wre 
just  managed  to  drag  ourselves  back  to  the  rifle-pits." 

Adjutant  Hart,  of  the  same  regiment  (One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  Pennsylvania)  said:  "Never  can  the  recol 
lection  of  that  field  be  effaced  from  the  memory  of  those 
who  witnessed  it  on  that  day.  The  weather  being  ex 
tremely  hot,  with  frequent  showers,  the  dead  had  become 
bloated  and  swollen  until  their  clothes  could  scarcely  con 
tain  them;  the  blood  still  oozing  from  gaping  wounds; 
the  ground  saturated  with  gore.  Flies  in  myriads 
swarmed  around;  dead  horses  with  saddles  and  harness 
still  on;  broken  guns ;  remains  of  camps  with  food  cooked 
for  Saturday's  dinner  untouched;  the  air  polluted  with 
stifling  odors  arising  from  decomposing  bodies ;  wounded 
men  in  the  agonies  of  death — all  tended  to  make  the 
heart  sick  and  the  soul  shudder  at  the  sight.  I  visited 
the  late  head-quarters  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
on  the  Nine  Mile  road.  Here  I  found  the  log  house 
filled  with  wounded  and  dead  soldiers.  Some  were  our 
own  men.  The  wounded  had  been  refreshed  from  the 
stock  of  provisions  left  by  the  field  and  staff.  Here  the 
rebel  General  Roger  A.  Pryor  had  assisted  in  the  ampu 
tation  of  a  limb  of  a  member  of  the  One  Hundred  and 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Fourth  "  (see  Colonel  Davis's  History  of  the  One  Hun 
dred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania). 

The  following  article,  written  by  Horace  Greeley  and 
which  appeared  in  the  National  Tribune,  describes  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks  or  Seven  Pines : 

"  The  first  collision  on  the  Chickahominy  between  the 
advance  of  General  McClellan's  army  and  the  rebels 
occurred  May  24,  near  New  Bridge,  where  the  Fourth 
Michigan,  Colonel  Woodbury,  waded  the  stream  and 
assailed  and  drove  off  a  superior  rebel  force,  losing  but 
eight  men  in  all,  and  taking  thirty-seven  prisoners,  of 
whom  fifteen  were  wounded. 

"  Directly  afterward  General  Fitz-John  Porter,  com 
manding  the  Fifth  Corps  on  our  right,  was  ordered  by 
General  McClellan  to  advance  from  New  Bridge  via 
Mechanicsville  to  Hanover  Court-House  in  order  to 
facilitate  and  render  secure  General  McDowell's  expected 
junction  from  Fredericksburg.  Starting  at  3  A.M.,  May 
27,  in  a  pouring  rain,  our  cavalry  advance,  under  General 
W.  H.  Emory,  had  reached  at  noon  a  point  two  miles 
southward  of  the  Court  House,  where  the  road  forks 
to  Ashland,  and  where  the  enemy  were  found  in  position 
to  bar  our  further  progress. 

"  The  Twenty-fifth  New  York  and  Berdan's  sharp 
shooters  speedily  coming  up,  they  were  deployed  by 
General  Emory,  with  a  section  of  Benson's  battery,  and 
thus  advanced  slowly  toward  the  enemy  until  reinforced 
by  General  D.  C.  Butterfield,  with  four  regiments  of  his 
brigade,  when  the  enemy  was  charged  and  quickly  routed  ; 
one  of  his  guns  being  captured  by  Colonel  Lansing's 
Seventeenth  New  York. 

"  The  cavalry,  Benson's  battery,  and  General  Morell's 

59 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

infantry  and  artillery  keenly  pursued  the  fugitives,  while 
Martindale's  brigade,  with  a  section  of  artillery,  ad 
vanced  on  the  Ashland  road,  pushing  back  the  enemy  in 
his  front,  until  ordered  to  reform  his  brigade  and  move 
up  the  railroad  to  the  Court-House.  One  regiment  hav 
ing  taken  that  course,  General  Martindale  was  left  with 
but  two  and  a  half  regiments  and  one  section  of  Martin's 
battery,  when  he  was  attacked  by  a  superior  force  and 
compelled  to  maintain  the  unequal  contest  for  an  hour. 

"  Meantime  General  Porter,  at  the  Court-House,  learn 
ing  that  his  rear  was  thus  attacked,  faced  his  whole  col 
umn  about  and  moved  rapidly  to  the  rescue,  sending  the 
Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  New  York,  with  Griffin's 
battery,  directly  to  Martindale's  assistance,  pushing  the 
Ninth  Massachusetts  and  Sixty-second  Pennsylvania 
through  the  woods  on  the  right  (west)  to  take  the  enemy 
in  flank ;  while  Butterfield,  with  the  Eighty-third  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Sixteenth  Michigan,  hastened  through  the 
woods  still  farther  to  the  right,  and  compelled  the  rout 
of  the  enemy. 

"  The  Thirteenth  New  York,  of  Colonel  G.  K.  War 
ren's  brigade,  which,  having  been  delayed  repairing 
bridges,  had  not  hitherto  been  in  action,  now  came  up  on 
our  left,  and,  the  odds  being  too  palpable,  the  Confeder 
ates  made  a  rapid  retreat.  Their  loss  is  stated  by  General 
McClellan  at  some  200  killed,  730  prisoners  (including 
wounded),  one  1 2-pound  howitzer,  many  small  arms, 
two  railroad  trains,  and  their  camp  at  Hanover  Court- 
House  captured  and  destroyed.  We  lost  53  killed  and 
344  wounded.  The  rebel  force  thus  defeated  consisted 
of  General  L.  O'B.  Branch's  Division  of  North  Carolina 
and  Georgia  troops,  supposed  by  General  McClellan  to  be 
about  9000  strong. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

"  FOURTH    CORPS   ADVANCES. 

"  The  Chickahominy  opposite  Richmond,  twenty  or 
thirty  miles  from  its  mouth,  is  a  sluggish,  oozy  mill- 
stream,  three  to  four  rods  wide,  often  fordable,  but  tra 
versing  a  swampy,  miry  bottom,  generally  wooded,  half 
a  mile  to  a  mile  wide,  bordered  by  low,  irregular  bluffs. 

"  All  the  bridges  by  which  it  was  previously  crossed 
were,  of  course,  destroyed  in  their  retreat  by  the  rebels, 
but  Brigadier-General  H.  M.  Naglee,  of  Casey's  division, 
Keyes's  (Fourth)  Corps,  leading  our  advance  on  the  left, 
crossed  it  near  Bottoms  Bridge,  May  20,  without  diffi 
culty,  wholly  unopposed,  followed  by  the  rest  of  the 
corps  three  days  later,  the  bridge  having  been  meantime 
rebuilt. 

"  During  the  three  following  days — May  24,  25  and 
26 — Naglee  made  a  splendid  reconnoissance  toward  Rich 
mond,  and  to  within  two  miles  of  the  James,  on  our  left; 
Couch's  division  took  up — May  28,  by  order — a  position 
some  miles  in  advance,  at  a  place  known  as  the  Seven 
Pines,  on  the  direct  road  from  Bottoms  Bridge  to  Rich 
mond,  which  he  proceeded  hastily  to  fortify  with  abatis, 
rifle-pits,  etc.,  and  by  building  up  and  arming  a  small 
redoubt. 

"  Meantime  the  remaining  division  (Casey's)  of 
Keyes's  corps  was  advanced  to  and  encamped  about  the 
station  known  as  Fair  Oaks,  on  the  Richmond  and  York 
River  Railroad,  to  the  right  and  rather  in  advance  of 
Couch's  position. 

"  Heintzelman's  (Third)  Corps  had  crossed  after 
Keyes's,  and  been  stationed  in  his  rear,  but  rather  to  the 
left,  so  as  to  observe  the  roads  debouching  on  that  side 
from  White  Oak  Swamp,  whereby  we  might  be  unex- 

61 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

pectedly  assailed  in  flank.  Simmer's  Corps  was  still  north 
of  the  Chickahominy,  some  miles  higher  up,  ready  to 
cross  at  command. 

"  General  McClellan  was  with  Fitz-John  Porter's  and 
Franklin's  Corps  at  and  near  New  Bridge,  nearly  ten 
miles  above  Bottoms  Bridge.  Heintzelman,  as  senior 
major-general,  was  in  command  on  the  left  until  Sumner 
appeared. 

"  The  enemy  being  seen  in  force  barely  a  mile  from 
our  front,  Casey's  pickets  were  posted  some  half  a  mile 
in  advance  of  his  line.  It  rained  heavily  throughout  the 
night  of  May  30,  swelling  the  Chickahominy  to  an  ex 
traordinary  height,  flooding  its  miry  bottom,  and  setting 
afloat  several  of  our  new-made  bridges. 

"  General  Joe  Johnston,  who  accompanied  the  rebel 
army,  saw  his  opportunity  and  resolved  to  profit  by  it. 
The  roads  of  all  that  region  centre  upon  Richmond,  radi 
ating  thence  like  the  folds  of  a  fan,  and  affording  a  con 
siderable  advantage  in  manoeuvring  to  the  combatant  who 
holds  the  city. 

"  JOHNSTON'S  PREPARATIONS. 

"  Informed  by  his  scouts  of  the  numbers  and  isolated 
position  of  Keyes's  Corps,  Johnston  resolved  to  assail 
and  crush  it  before  it  could  be  adequately  reinforced. 
To  this  end  he  directed  Major-General  Longstreet,  with 
his  own  and  General  D.  H.  Hill's  divisions,  the  latter 
in  advance,  to  push  out  by  the  Williamsburg  road  and 
attack  our  position  in  front,  while  General  Huger's,  on 
his  right,  was  to  move  down  the  Charles  City  road  and 
come  in  on  our  left  flank,  and  General  Gustavus  W.  Smith 
was  to  move  out  on  the  New  Bridge  road  to  Old  Tavern, 
taking  thence  the  Nine  Mile  road  to  Fair  Oaks  Station, 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

and  so  come  in  on  our  right.  The  entire  rebel  army  de 
fending  Richmond — some  40,000  or  50,000  strong — was 
either  engaged  in  or  supporting  this  movement,  with 
Jefferson  Davis,  General  Lee,  and  other  magnates  observ 
ing,  directing,  animating,  and  giving  counsel. 

"  The  attacking  columns  were  to  move  at  daybreak, 
May  31,  but  the  tremendous  rains  of  the  preceding  after 
noon  and  night  had  so  flooded  the  earth  as  to  render  the 
moving  of  artillery  exceedingly  difficult,  the  infantry 
often  wading  through  water  two  or  three  feet  deep. 
Huger's  flank  movement  had  not  yet  culminated  when 
Hill,  who  had  for  some  time  waited  impatiently  in  our 
immediate  front,  at  i  P.M.  gave  the  signal  to  his  division 
to  advance  and  attack. 

"  Casey's  division  was  surprised  as  well  as  largely  out 
numbered.  Having  been  scarcely  two  days  in  this  posi 
tion,  their  defensive  works  were  not  of  much  account, 
and  even  their  commander  did  not  consider  the  matter 
serious  until  a  vidette  reported  the  enemy  advancing  in 
force  about  the  same  moment  that  two  shells  came  hiss 
ing  over  their  heads.  Dropping  the  axes  and  spades 
wherewith  they  were  felling  trees  for  abatis  and  digging 
rifle-pits,  our  soldiers  at  the  front  hurriedly  stood  to 
their  arms  as  our  pickets  came  running  in. 

"  General  Casey  promptly  sent  forward  Spratt's  bat 
tery  of  four  3-inch  rifle-guns  to  a  position  in  front  of  his 
rifle-pits,  and  ordered  up  General  Naglee's  infantry  bri 
gade,  consisting  of  the  Fifty-sixth  and  One  Hundredth 
New  York,  Eleventh  Maine,  and  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania,*  to  its  support;  while  he  disposed 
his  seven  remaining  regiments  and  three  batteries  on 

*  The  52d  Penna.  was  of  this  Brigade  and  already  at  the  front, 
so  it  was  not  necessary  to  order  it  up. 

63 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

either  side  of  a  small  redoubt,  which  he  had  hastily  con 
structed,  expecting  to  hold  his  ground  until  the  arrival 
of  reinforcements;  and  ordered  his  artillery  to  open  on 
the  advancing  enemy. 

"  But  the  odds  were  too  great.  The  three  brigades 
of  Rhodes,  Garland,  and  Anderson  were  immediately  in 
his  front,  while  that  of  Rains,  by  a  flank  movement,  was 
coming  in  on  his  left.  The  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Pennsylvania,  which  he  had  sent  forward  to  the  support 
of  his  pickets,  came  rushing  back  in  confusion  and  went  to 
the  rear  in  disorder,  having  lost  heavily  by  the  rebel  fire, 
and,  though  musketry  and  artillery  were  doing  fearful 
execution  on  either  side,  it  was  plain  that  we  must  soon 
be  overwhelmed. 

"  Seeing  that  the  enemy  were  closing  in  on  him  on  both 
wings,  General  Casey  ordered  General  Naglee,  with  what 
remained  of  his  brigade,  to  charge  bayonets  and  drive 
them  back;  which  was  done,  but  under  a  musketry  fire 
that  mowed  down  our  men  by  hundreds.  Here  fell 
Colonel  James  M.  Brown,  of  the  One  Hundredth  New 
York,  and  Colonel  Davis*,  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania,  whose  major  was  also  mortally 
wounded ;  and,  our  flanks  being  enveloped,  Rains  having 
gained  the  rear  of  our  redoubt  and  firing  thence  on  the 
flank  of  our  infantry,  Casey's  division  was  driven  back 
upon  Couch,  with  the  loss  of  six  guns. 

"  Colonel  Bailey  and  Major  Van  Valkenburgh,  First 
New  York  Artillery,  were  killed  and  Adjutant  Ramsey 
wounded  while  endeavoring  to  save  the  guns  in  the  re 
doubt,  which  were  the  next  moment  seized  by  Rhodes  and 
turned  upon  our  flying  columns. 

*  Col.  Davis  was  wounded,  but  not  mortally,  as  he  walked  off 
the  field. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

"  To  the  credit  of  this  shattered  division  be  it  recorded 
that,  under  a  fearful  enfilading  fire  from  Rains,  in  addi 
tion  to  that  thundering  on  their  rear  from  Rhodes,  they 
brought  off  three-fourths  of  our  guns. 

"  The  storm  of  battle  now  fell  upon  the  Ninety-third 
Pennsylvania  (Colonel  McCarter),  Fifty-fifth  New  York 
(Lieutenant-Colonel  Thourout),  Twenty-third  Pennsyl 
vania  (Colonel  Neill),  and  Sixty-first  (Colonel  Rippey), 
of  Couch's  division,  who  were  sent  forward  by  Keyes 
to  the  relief  of  Casey,  on  the  right,  where  they  fought 
gallantly  and  lost  heavily. 

"The  Seventh  Massachusetts  (Colonel  Russell)  and 
Sixty-second  New  York  (Colonel  J.  L.  Riker)  were 
afterward  sent  to  reinforce  them,  but  were  pressed  back 
upon  Fair  Oaks  by  the  enemy's  overpowering  advance, 
and  there,  uniting  with  the  First  United  States  Chas 
seurs,  Colonel  John  Cochrane,  and  Thirty-first  Pennsyl 
vania,  Colonel  Williams,  held  their  ground  till  the  ad 
vance  of  General  Sumner's  corps,  which  had  with  great 
difficulty  made  its  way  across  the  swollen  Chickahominy, 
checked  the  rebel  advance  in  that  direction. 

"  Brigadier-General  Peck,  who  held  the  left  of  Couch's 
position,  had  been  divested  of  his  regiments  aforesaid, 
which  were  successively  ordered  up  to  the  front  by  Couch 
or  Keyes,  until,  at  4.30  P.M.,  he  led  the  One  Hundred 
and  Second  Pennsylvania  (Colonel  Rowley)  and  Ninety- 
third  (Colonel  McCarter)  to  the  aid  of  our  crumbling 
right,  and  was  for  half  an  hour  sharply  engaged  with 
the  triumphant  enemy  near  Seven  Pines,  losing  some 
ground  but  encamping  very  near  his  field  of  conflict. 

"  Heintzelman  was  promptly  summoned  to  the  aid  of 
Couch,  but  there  was  an  unaccounted- for  delay  in  the  re 
ception  of  the  message.  It  was  a  quarter  past  three  [  ?] 
5  65 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

before  Heintzelman  came  fairly  into  the  fight,  Jami 
son's  Maine  and  Berry's  Michigan  brigades  eagerly  push 
ing  to  the  front. 

"  On  the  rebel  left,  General  Smith's  attack  was  de 
layed  by  Johnston,  who  was  there  in  person,  until  4  P.M., 
listening  for  the  sound  of  Longstreet's  musketry,  which, 
for  some  atmospheric  reason,  he  failed  to  hear.  It  was 
now  too  late  for  complete  success,  though  his  men  fought 
desperately. 

"  The  Richmond  and  York  River  Railroad  near  its 
crossing  of  the  Nine  Mile  road  runs  for  a  considerable 
distance  on  an  embankment  four  or  five  feet  high,  form 
ing  an  effective  breastwork,  behind  which  our  men  held 
stubbornly  and  fought  gallantly. 

"  General  Abercrombie,  with  five  regiments,  was  at 
Fair  Oaks,  instructed  to  hold  the  position  at  all  hazards. 
Here  fell  General  C.  Devens,  severely  wounded,  while 
of  the  Sixty-first  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Rippey,  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Spear,  and  Major  Smith  fell  dead,  and  27 
of  the  line  officers  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  and 
near  this  point,  at  sunset,  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
the  rebel  commander-in-chief,  was  struck  in  the  side  by 
a  shell  and  badly  wounded,  breaking  two  ribs  in  falling 
from  his  horse,  so  that  he  was  disabled  for  service  for 
several  months. 

"  General  G.  W.  Smith  succeeded  him  in  command, 
but  he  was  soon  disabled  by  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  re 
moved  from  the  field.  One  of  the  last  rebel  charges  on 
this  part  of  the  field  was  led  by  Jefferson  Dams  in  per 
son."  [NOTE. — Both  of  these  statements  are  errors. 
General  Smith  in  his  account  (Century  Magazine,  vol.  30, 
p.  130)  denies  that  he  was  stricken,  and  neither  John- 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

ston,  Smith,  Hill,  nor  Longstreet,  in  their  accounts  pub 
lished  in  same  volume  of  the  Century  Magazine,  mention 
Davis  as  taking  an  active  part  in  the  engagement.] 

"  Hearing  vaguely  of  trouble  on  the  left,  McClellan, 
still  at  New  Bridge,  had  ordered  Sumner,  who  had  Sedg- 
wick's  and  Richardson's  divisions,  to  cross  to  the  relief 
of  Couch,  and  Sedgwick,  with  the  advance,  reached 
the  field  on  our  right  an  hour  and  a  half  before  sunset, 
just  as  the  triumphant  rebels  had  turned  Couch's  left, 
interposing  between  him  and  Heintzelman  (who  in  com 
ing  by  had  swayed  to  the  right),  with  intent  to  sever  and 
defeat  our  two  corps  on  the  south  of  the  Chickahominy. 


"  SEDGWICK    IRRESISTIBLE. 


"  Sedgwick,  advancing  rapidly,  interposed  at  the  critical 
moment,  and,  forming  in  line  of  battle  in  the  edge  of  the 
wood,  with  a  large  open  field  in  his  front,  commenced  a 
fire  of  canister  from  his  24  guns  on  the  head  of  the 
enemy's  advancing  column,  which  staggered  it,  and  then, 
moving  forward  his  whole  division  in  line  of  battle,  he 
completely  swept  the  field,  recovering  much  of  the  ground 
that  had  been  lost. 

"  At  nightfall  Richardson's  division,  having  also 
crossed  over,  came  up  on  the  left  of  Sedgwick,  connecting 
with  Birney's  brigade,  of  Heintzelman's  corps,  on  his  left ; 
thus  making  all  secure  in  that  quarter. 

"  At  6  P.M.  Abercrombie,  farther  to  our  right,  still 
desperately  fighting,  had  been  compelled  to  give  ground, 
and  seemed  about  to  be  enveloped  by  an  overwhelming 
force,  when  the  long-expected  succor  arrived.  Gorman's 
brigade,  leading  Sedgwick's  division,  deployed  into  line 
of  battle  along  the  crest  of  a  hill  in  the  rear  of  Fair  Oaks, 

67 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

and  advanced  down  a  gentle  slope  to  the  field  where 
Colonel  Cochrane's  Chasseurs  and  Neill's  Twenty-third 
Pennsylvania  were  fighting  against  heavy  odds. 

"  At  this  moment  a  furious  enfilading  fire  of  musketry 
was  received  on  our  right,  indicating  an  effort  to  turn  us 
on  that  flank  and  repeat  the  sharp  lesson  of  Casey's  dis 
aster.  General  Sedgwick  instantly  directed  General 
Burns  to  deploy  the  Sixty-ninth  and  Seventy-second 
Pennsylvania  to  the  right,  himself  holding  the  Seventy- 
first  and  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  in  support  of  Gorman. 

"  The  rebels  attacked  with  great  fury,  stampeding  two 
or  three  battery  teams,  so  that  for  a  moment  our  lines 
seemed  to  waver;  but  Burns's  calm,  full-voiced  order, 
'Steady,  men,  steady ! '  evoked  a  thundering  cheer,  fol 
lowed  by  volley  after  volley  of  musketry,  under  which 
the  enemy  advanced  steadily,  and  were  charging  Kirby's 
battery,  when  he  poured  into  their  close  ranks  a  murder 
ous  fire  of  canister,  which  sent  them  rapidly  to  the  woods 
in  the  rear. 

"  REBEL  EFFORT  FRUITLESS. 

"  Meanwhile  Dana's  brigade  had  come  into  line  on 
Gorman's  left,  and  the  rebels  renewed  as  darkness  fell 
their  attempt  to  outflank  our  right,  extending  their  left 
farther  and  farther,  but  in  vain.  Generals  Sumner, 
Sedgwick,  Dana  (whose  horse  was  killed  under  him), 
Burns,  and  Gorman  each  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to 
animate  and  encourage  their  men. 

"  Dana's  wing  was  gradually  advanced  as  the  rebels 
extended  their  left,  and  the  battle  swayed  more  and  more 
to  our  right,  until  our  line  was  nearly  at  right  angles 
with  that  on  which  we  had  been  fighting  two  hours 
before. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

"And  thus  the  fight  raged  on  until  after  8  o'clock, 
when  the  rebels  desisted  and  fell  back,  leaving  us  undis 
puted  possession  of  the  ground  whereon  the  final  struggle 
iv as  made. 

"  Summer's  heavier  artillery  had  been  left  in  the 
swamps  of  the  Chickahominy,  as  his  infantry  hurried 
forward  to  the  battle.  It  was  extricated  during  the  night, 
brought  forward,  and  properly  posted  by  morning,  when 
General  McClellan  also  had  arrived;  but,  alas,  without 
the  corps  of  Fitz-John  Porter  and  Franklin,  which,  could 
they  have  come  up  on  the  New  Bridge  road  during  the 
night,  might  have  converted  Casey's  demolition  into  a 
rebel  overthrow.  It  does  not  appear  that  even  an  attempt 
was  made  to  bring  them  forward. 

"  In  the  morning,  June  i,  McClellan  awaited  an  attack, 
which,  he  says,  was  made  at  6  A.M.,  on  the  left  of  Sum- 
ner's  corps,  by  General  Pickett,  supported  by  General 
Roger  A.  Pryor's  brigade  of  Huger's  division,  to  which 
French's  brigade  on  our  side  stood  opposed.  The  fight 
between  them  was  noisy,  but  not  very  bloody,  due  caution 
and  distance  being  maintained  on  either  side.  [NOTE. — 
Those  who  think  there  was  little  fighting  on  Sunday, 
June  ist,  will  probably  change  their  minds  when  they 
read  the  account  of  "  The  Second  Day  at  Fair  Oaks  " 
which  follows,  and  scan  the  list  of  casualties, — Richard 
son's  division  losing  838  killed  and  wounded, — and  when 
they  consider  that  Longstreet,  Hill,  and  Huger,  the  right 
wing  of  the  rebel  army,  were  defeated  and  driven  off  the 
field.]  Mahone's  brigade  was  brought  up  to  the  aid 
of  Pryor,  and  Howard's  to  that  of  French,  and  finally 
Meagher's  Irish  regiments  went  to  the  front,  and  a 
desultory  conflict  was  maintained  for  some  two  or  three 
hours,  during  which  General  Howard  lost  his  arm  and 

69 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

had  two  of  his  staff  wounded.  The  rebels  at  last  de 
sisted,  and  returned  unpursued.  Their  reports  assert  that 
they  made  no  attack,  but  only  repelled  one. 

"  The  rebels  remained  through  the  day  in  quiet  posses 
sion  of  Couch's  and  Casey's  camps,  sending  off  muskets, 
tents,  and  camp  equipages  to  Richmond;  themselves  fol 
lowing  after  nightfall.  Johnston  says  that  Smith  did 
not  renew  his  attack  on  our  right,  because  of  his  discovery 
of  strong  intrenchments  in  that  quarter,  which  he  had  not 
seen  the  night  before.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  not  dis 
turbed  by  any  demonstration  on  our  part,  and  retired 
wholly  unmolested.  Ten  days  later  we  had  not  recovered 
the  ground  held  by  Casey's  advance  on  the  morning  of 
May  31."  [This  last  statement  is  contradicted  by  the 
italicized  lines  just  above,  and  by  statements  quoted  at 
beginning  of  this  chapter.] 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  SECOND  DAY  AT  FAIR  OAKS. 

HAVING  gone  so  fully  into  the  general  movements  and 
operations  of  the  troops  engaged  in  the  first  day's  fight 
ing,  it  seems  not  only  proper  but  necessary  to  complete 
the  story  by  giving,  at  least,  an  outline  of  the  next  day's 
engagement,  which  was  almost  wholly  confined  to  an 
attack  by  Longstreet  on  Richardson's  division  of  Sum- 
ner's  corps,  near  Fair  Oaks  Station.  The  first  day  had 
been  bloody  enough,  but  it  seems  it  had  not  been  decisive 
enough  to  satisfy  either  side  in  the  conflict.  On  the 
Union  side  a  council  of  war  was  held  in  General  Sum- 
ner's  tent  at  2  o'clock,  Sunday  morning,  June  1st,  and 
it  was  resolved  to  attack  the  enemy  as  soon  as  disposi 
tion  for  that  purpose  could  be  made.  (See  "  The  Penin 
sula,"  by  General  Webb,  p.  114.) 

On  the  Confederate  side  General  Gustavus  W.  Smith, 
now  in  command,  sent  for  General  Longstreet  during 
the  night  and  ordered  him  to  attack  the  next  morning. 
General  Smith  says  (see  Century  Magazine  article)  :  "  I 
directed  General  Longstreet  to  send  one  brigade  of 
Huger's  division  to  support  the  troops  on  the  Nine  Mile 
road,  and  renew  the  fighting  with  the  remainder  of  the 
right  wing  as  early  as  possible  after  daylight,  directing 
his  efforts  north  instead  of  any  further  east,  pivoting  this 
movement  on  the  position  of  Whiting  near  Fair  Oaks 
Station.  General  Longstreet  was  assured  that  when  a 
determined  attack  by  the  right  wing  was  well  developed 
it  should  be  favored  by  a  strong  demonstration,  and,  if 
necessary,  by  a  real  attack  by  Whiting's  command,  and 

7i 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

other  troops  to  be  brought  up  on  the  Nine  Mile  road. 
Longstreet  objected  to  renewing  the  attack  with  the  right 
wing  of  the  army,  and  said  it  ought  to  be  done  by  my 
division,  which  he  thought  had  done  little  fighting  on  the 
3 1 st.  After  hearing  all  he  chose  to  say  on  the  subject, 
I  gave  the  positive  order,  as  above,  and  General  Long- 
street  returned  to  the  Williamsburg  road.  I  then  wrote 
to  General  Lee,  who  was  in  general  charge  in  Richmond 
of  all  Confederate  army  operations,  telling  him  what 
had  been  determined  on,  what  orders  had  been  given, 
and  asking  that  such  re-enforcements  as  were  within 
reach  should  be  sent.  General  Lee's  reply  is  dated  Rich 
mond,  5  A.M.  He  says:  '  Ripley  will  be  ordered,  and 
such  forces  from  General  Holmes  as  can  be  got  up  will 
be  sent.  Your  movements*  are  judicious,  and  deter 
mination  to  strike  the  enemy  right/  ' 

The  positions  of  the  opposing  forces  at  this  time  were 
about  as  follows :  On  the  Union  side  Sedgwick's  division 
and  part  of  Couch's,  and  five  batteries,  were  on  the  ex 
treme  right,  facing  nearly  west.  On  the  left  of  Sedg- 
wick,  at  an  angle  parallel  with  the  railroad,  was  Richard 
son's  division,  in  three  lines  of  a  brigade  front  each,  and 
four  batteries.  On  the  left  Keyes's  corps  held  the  works 
south  of  the  Williamsburg  road  protected  by  sixty  pieces 
of  artillery.  Heintzelman's  corps  held  the  line  between 
Keyes  and  Sumner,  with  artillery. 

On  the  Confederate  side  the  troops  under  Longstreet 
had  all  been  brought  to  the  front.  His  extreme  right 
was  on  the  Williamsburg  road  east  of  Seven  Pines;  his 
left  near  two  wood  roads  near  Fair  Oaks  Station,  the 
troops  on  his  right  facing  east,  those  on  his  left  facing 
north;  G.  W.  Smith's  division,  now  under  Whiting,  a 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

little  west  of  Fair  Oaks  Station,  near  the  ground  on  which 
it  had  fought  the  previous  afternoon. 

"  About  five  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  (June  i )  in 
the  gray  of  dawn,  the  Confederate  skirmishers  in  front 
of  Richardson  opened  fire."  Smith  says  these  were 
Hood's  enterprising  Texans,  and  that  "  They  were  im 
mediately  recalled,  because  it  was  intended  that  the  attack 
should  be  made  by  the  right  wing  under  Longstreet." 

George  W.  Mindil,  then  aide  on  the  staff  of  General 
Phil.  Kearney,  gives  a  description  of  the  engagement  that 
followed.  He  says :  "  At  half-past  six  o'clock  a  deter 
mined  assault  was  made  against  General  French's  line 
(of  Richardson's  division),  the  enemy  pushing  forward 
along  the  two  wood  roads  that  crossed  this  line  heavy 
columns  of  attack,  supporting  them  on  both  flanks  by 
battalions  of  infantry  in  deployed  line.  The  firing  com 
menced  within  half  musket  shot,  and  was  maintained 
at  closer  quarters  for  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half  before 
the  enemy's  column  wavered  and  broke. 

"  Hardly  had  fresh  Federal  regiments  taken  the  place 
of  those  which  had  exhausted  their  ammunition  in  re 
pulsing  the  Confederate  attack  at  8  A.M.,  when  the  enemy's 
column,  strongly  re-enforced,  gave  a  general  yell,  and 
again  dashed  forward  to  the  attack.  This  renewed  fight 
was  of  the  most  desperate  and  sanguinary  character, 
lasting  more  than  an  hour,  when  the  enemy  were  again 
driven  back,  without  gaining  a  single  point  of  the  Union 
line.  ...  So  fierce  was  the  fighting  in  Richardson's 
front  that  he  sustained  a  loss  of  nearly  800  men  in  a  divis 
ion  much  smaller  in  numbers  than  Sedgwick's,  and  his  men 
were  partly  protected  by  the  railroad  embankment.  .  .  . 
As  Hooker  neared  the  clearing  on  Hyer's  farm,  he 

73 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

ordered  his  four  regiments  to  charge;  this  cleared  the 
woods,  and  the   enemy  were  entirely  broken. 
Hooker  was  now  on  the  right  flank  and  rear  of  the  forces 
engaged  with  Richardson,  and  he  was  not  slow  to  improve 
his  opportunity." 

Again  Mindil  says :  "  After  Richardson's  and 
Hooker's  divisions  and  Birney's  brigade  had  driven  the 
Confederates  well  back  from  the  railroad  in  front  of  the 
position  held  by  Richardson  during  the  night,  Sickles's 
brigade  united  with  these  forces  and  a  general  advance 
was  made.  No  serious  opposition  was  encountered,  and 
Casey's  camp  was  reoccupied  before  two  o'clock  P.M., 
the  ground  being  covered  with  the  rebel  dead  and 
wounded  as  well  as  our  own."  [NOTE. — General  D.  H. 
Hill  claims  that  they  did  not  evacuate  Casey's  camp  until 
two  o'clock  A.M.,  June  2d.] 

When  the  rebels  \vere  thus  defeated  and  driven  back 
towards  Richmond  on  June  ist,  it  created  consternation 
in  the  Confederate  capital  and  demoralization  in  the 
ranks  of  the  southern  army.  The  condition  of  the  Con 
federates  on  that  Sunday  morning  is  clearly  portrayed 
in  the.  account  given  by  Mr.  William  Henry  Hurlbert, 
the  translator  of  Prince  de  Joinville's  work  on  the  war, 
who  was  in  Richmond  during  the  battle.  He  says: 
'  They  were  in  a  perfect  chaos  of  brigades  and  regi 
ments.  The  roads  in  Richmond  were  literally  covered 
with  stragglers,  some  throwing  away  their  guns,  some 
breaking  them  on  the  trees,  all  with  the  same  story,"  etc. 

General  Barnard,  who  was  McClellan's  chief  of  artil 
lery,  says :  "  The  repulse  of  the  rebels  at  Fair  Oaks  should 
have  been  taken  advantage  of.  It  was  one  of  those 
'  occasions  '  which,  if  not  seized,  do  not  repeat  them 
selves.  We  now  know  the  state  of  disorganization  and 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

dismay  in  which  the  rebel  army  retreated.  We  now  know 
that  it  could  have  been  followed  into  Richmond.  Had 
it  been  so,  there  would  have  been  no  resistance  to  over 
come  to  bring  over  our  right  wing." 

Another  historian  (Wm.  Cullen  Bryant)  says:  "  About 
noon  "  (June  ist)  "  McClellan  came  over.  He  was  quite 
satisfied  with  what  had  been  achieved,  and  had  no  special 
orders  to  give.  In  the  judgment  of  all  his  corps  com 
manders,  if  the  pursuit  had  been  pressed,  Richmond 
would  have  fallen." 

THE  LOSSES. 

On  the  Confederate  side  General  Johnston  reported  the 
loss  in  General  G.  W.  Smith's  division  at  1283,  and  in 
Long-street's  command  (Longstreet's  and  Hill's  divis 
ions)  at  "  about  3000,  of  which  2700  was  in  Hill's." 
(This  loss  was  in  the  first  day's  fighting.)  The  Confed 
erate  loss  second  day  must  have  been  about  1 200 ;  among 
the  killed  were  Brigadier-General  Robert  Hatton,  of  Ten 
nessee,  Colonel  Moore,  of  Alabama,  Colonel  Jones, 
Twelfth  Alabama,  Colonel  Lomax,  Third  Alabama, 
Colonel  Giles,  Fifth  South  Carolina,  Colonel  Lightfoot, 
Twenty-second  North  Carolina,  and  among  the  wounded 
was  the  Confederate  commander-in-chief,  General  Jos. 
E.  Johnston  (severely,  and  carried  from  the  field),  also 
Generals  Rhodes,  Garland,  and  Wade  Hampton,  South 
Carolina,  Colonel  Goodwin,  Ninth  Virginia;  while  Gen 
eral  Pettigrew,  Colonel  C.  Davis,  of  South  Carolina,  and 
Colonel  Long  were  taken  prisoners,  General  Pettigrew 
being  wounded. 

On  the  Union  side  the  losses,  as  summed  up  from  the 
official  reports,  were:  in  the  first  day's  battle:  Casey's 
division  1429,  Couch's  division  1168,  Kearney's  division 

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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

884,  Sedgwick's  347,  unattached  4,— total  3832.  In  the 
second  day's  fighting:  Richardson's  division  838,  Bir- 
ney's  brigade  of  Kearney's  division  207,  Hooker's  divis 
ion  154, — total  1199. 

Total  for  the  two  days  5031.  On  the  Union  side  no 
general  officers  were  either  killed  or  captured.  Briga 
dier-General  O.  O.  Howard  lost  an  arm  in  the  second 
day's  fight  near  Fair  Oaks  Station.  The  casualties  among 
officers  of  Casey's  division  are  given  below.  It  may  be 
incomplete,  as  it  is  found  impossible  to  verify  it  by  refer 
ence  to  all  the  regimental  reports.  In  this  division  the 
officers  of  the  artillery  suffered  severely,  as  will  be  seen, 
and  some  of  the  regiments  had  more  casualties  among 
officers  than  others  which  fought  alongside  of  them  in 
the  same  brigade. 

CASEY'S  DIVISION:  ARTILLERY: 

COLONEL  G.  D.  BAILEY,  chief  of  artillery,  killed. 

MAJOR  VAN  VAULKENBERG,  First  New  York  Artil 
lery,  killed. 

ADJUTANT  WM.  RAMSEY,  First  New  York  Artillery, 

wounded. 

CAPTAIN  SPRATT,  Battery  B,  First  New  York  Artil 
lery,  wounded. 

LIEUTENANT  HOWELL,  Battery  H,  First  New  York 

Artillery,  wounded. 

NAGLEE'S  BRIGADE: 
One  Hundredth  New  York: 

COLONEL  J.  M.  BROWN,  killed. 
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  STANTON,  wounded. 
MAJOR  C.  N.  OTIS,  wounded. 

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CAPTAIN  D.  D.  NASH,  wounded. 
CAPTAIN  NICHOLSON,  wounded. 
LIEUTENANT  KELLOGG,  killed. 
LIEUTENANT  BROWN,  wounded. 
LIEUTENANT  BRUNCK,  wounded. 
LIEUTENANT  MAYO,  wounded. 

One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania: 

COLONEL  W.  W.  H.  DAVIS,  wounded. 
MAJOR  GRIES,  mortally  wounded. 
CAPTAIN  OREM,  wounded. 
CAPTAIN  BURHANS,  wounded. 
LIEUTENANT  MCDOWELL,  killed. 

Fifty-sixth  New  York: 

COLONEL  C.  H.  VAN  WYCK,  wounded  slightly  by  a 
shell  which  doubled  up  his  sword  sheath  and  bruised  his 
knee. 

Fifty-second  Pennsylvania : 

CAPTAIN  G.  R.  LENNARD,  wounded. 
CAPTAIN  G.  P.  DAVIS,  wounded. 
CAPTAIN  J.  CHAMBERLAIN,  wounded. 
LIEUTENANT  WEIDENSAUL,  wounded. 
LIEUTENANT  CUSKADEN,  wounded. 

Eleventh  Maine: 
LIEUTENANT  PRICE,  Company  G,  wounded. 

The  casualties  in  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  were 
125,  of  which  26  were  killed  or  died  of  wounds.  The 
One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  reported  167 
killed  and  wounded. 

77 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

AT    THE    CHICKAHOMINY    BRIDGES. 

ON  the  afternoon  of  June  4,  1862,  Naglee's  brigade 
left  its  camp  near  Seven  Pines  and  marched  down  the 
Williamsburg  road,  in  a  pouring  rain  which  continued 
all  day,  and  went  into  bivouac  in  the  vicinity  of  Bottoms 
Bridge  and  the  York  River  Railroad  bridge,  on  Wade's 
farm.     Here  shortly  afterwards  new  camp  equipage  was 
supplied,  also  clothing;  and  on  June  I2th  the  paymaster 
made  his  first  appearance  since  leaving  Washington, 
was  a  welcome  visitor.     This  movement  was  to  protect 
these  crossings  of  the  Chickahominy.     The  brigade  was 
placed  in  the  rifle-pits  and  redoubt  already  there,  and  set 
to  work  strengthening  the  defences  of  the  crossings  in 
anticipation  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  army  from  the 
north  side  of  the  river.     Additional  rifle-pits  and  earth 
works  were  constructed,  and  Bottoms  Bridge  was  rebuilt. 
One  regiment,  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsyl 
vania,  was  sent  across  to  the  east  side  to  guard  Dispatch 
Station  and  the  railroad  down  as  far  as  Tunstalls  Station. 
The  Fifty-second  was  employed  in  fatigue  duty   (con 
structing  the  works)  and  in  picket  duty  in  the  swamp  be 
tween  the  two  bridges  and  northward.     On  the  2;th  of 
June,  Fitz-John  Porter,  with  the  Fifth  Corps  and  some 
re-enforcements  from  the  south  side,  fought  the  battle 
of  Gaines's  Mill,  and,  although  he  held  his  position  at 
dark,  retired  across  the  river  during  the  night  at  the 
Grapevine  and  Sumner's  bridges,  some  three  to  five  miles 
northwest  of  Bottoms  Bridge.     These  bridges  were  de 
stroyed  as  soon  as  Porter  was  over.     McClellan's  army 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

was  now  all  on  the  south  side.  The  enemy  soon  put  in 
an  appearance  near  Dispatch  Station,  compelling  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  to  "  get  back  "  over 
Bottoms  Bridge.  The  army  stores  and  supplies  at  Dis 
patch  Station  were  hurried  up  to  Savage's  Station,  and 
communication  with  McClellan's  base  of  supplies  at 
White  House  Landing,  on  the  Pamunky,  cut  off.  The 
"  change  of  base  "  to  the  James  River  had  been  decided 
upon  the  night  before.  General  Casey  had  been  sent  to 
White  House  to  look  after  matters  there,  and  General 
Peck  placed  in  command  of  the  division.  The  positions 
of  the  regiments  of  Naglee's  brigade  at  this  time  were  as 
follows :  The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  and  Eleventh 
Maine  lined  the  river  from  the  railroad  bridge  to  Bottoms 
Bridge, — the  Fifty-sixth  and  One  Hundredth  New  York 
in  the  rifle-pits  and  redoubt, — while  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  was  near  the  old  tavern  house 
as  reserve.  Naglee  had  also  three  batteries  of  artillery, 
—Morgan's,  Brady's,  and  Miller's, — besides  a  squadron 
of  cavalry.  On  Sunday,  the  29th,  notwithstanding  the 
momentous  movements  going  on  in  preparation  for  the 
"  change  of  base,"  General  Naglee  assembled  his  troops 
on  the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy  and  held  a  memorial 
service,—  "  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  in  the  last  sacred 
duty  due  by  us  to  the  memory  of  our  brave  comrades 
who  sacrificed  their  lives  at  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines." 

On  this  day  the  booming  of  cannon  to  the  west  gave 
information  that  "  the  battle  was  on  once  more."  The 
enemy  were  now  closing  in  on  McClellan's  now  concen 
trated  army,  which  was  fighting  on  the  defensive  and  con 
testing  every  step  of  his  advance.  Stonewall  Jackson 
was  rebuilding  the  Grapevine  bridge  destroyed  by  Porter, 

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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

in  order  to  follow  over,  and  Lee,  now  convinced  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  intention,  was  crowding  him  to  the  wall  with 
part  of  his  army  and  sending  some  of  the  flower  of  his 
forces  to  intercept  the  contemplated  movement.  Ma- 
gruder  came  down  the  Williamsburg  road  and  the  rail 
road  to  capture  all  the  stores  accumulated  at  Savage's 
Station,  but  was  met  by  Sumner — the  old  hero — at  Allen's 
farm,  and  again  in  front  of  the  station,  where  the  Con 
federates  were  most  signally  defeated  and  driven  back, 
the  final  engagement  lasting  till  after  dark,  Sunday  even 
ing,  June  29th.  The  troops  and  trains  of  McClellan's 
army  were  already  moving  across  the  White  Oak  Swamp 
towards  the  James  River.  Keyes's  Fourth  Corps,  with 
the  exception  of  Naglee's  brigade  still  holding  the 
bridges,  had  already  crossed.  Porter  followed  Sunday 
afternoon,  Heintzelman  in  the  evening,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  army  followed  during  the  night,  so  that  by  Mon 
day  morning,  June  3Oth,  all  were  safely  over.  Colonel 
Davis,  in  his  account,  says :  "  Meantime  Naglee  stood  on 
the  defensive  and  interposed  between  a  victorious  enemy 
and  the  retiring  trains  and  troops."  And  again:  "It 
was  some  time  after  dark,  but  not  until  the  last  wagon  and 
the  last  regiment  had  passed,  that  the  pickets  were  called 
in  and  the  brigade  put  in  march  for  the  James  River.  It 
was  now  the  rear  guard  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

"  The  road  was  crowded  with  wagons,  and  the  march 
necessarily  slow.  The  brigade  crossed  the  White  Oak 
Swamp  some  time  after  midnight  and  bivouacked  on 
the  rising  ground  a  few  hundred  yards  in  front  of  and 
commanding  the  crossing."  .  .  .  Keyes,  who  was 
the  first  to  cross  the  swamp,  was  relieved,  early  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  29th,  by  Slocum,  of  Franklin's  corps, 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

and  with  his  baggage  and  artillery  marched  for  Turkey 
Bend,  near  Malvern  Hill,  where  he  arrived  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  3Oth.  Naglee's  brigade,  however,  was  still 
retained  with  the  rear  guard.  General  McClellan  says 
(see  article  "  The  Peninsula  Campaign,"  Century  Maga 
zine)  :  "  General  Franklin,  with  Smith's  division  of  his 
own  corps,  Richardson's  of  the  Second,  and  Naglee's 
brigade,  were  charged  with  the  defence  of  the  White 
Oak  Swamp  crossing.  Slocum  held  the  ground  thence  to 
the  Charles  City  road;  Kearney  from  that  road  to  the 
Long  Bridge  road;  McCall  on  his  left;  Hooker  thence 
to  the  Quaker  road ;  Sedgwick  at  Nelson's  farm  in  rear  of 
McCall  and  Kearney.  The  Fifth  Corps  was  at  Malvern 
Hill,  the  Fourth  at  Turkey  Bridge." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

WHITE  OAK  SWAMP  CROSSING. 

"  THE  fighting  on  this  day  (June  30),"  continues  Mc- 
Clellan,  "  was  very  severe  and  extended  along  the  whole 
line.  It  first  broke  out  between  twelve  and  one,  on  Gen 
eral  Franklin's  command,  in  the  shape  of  a  fierce  artillery 
fire  which  was  kept  up  through  the  day,  and  inflicted  seri 
ous  losses.  The  enemy's  infantry  made  several  attempts 
to  cross  near  the  old  bridge  and  below,  but  was  in  every 
case  thrown  back.  Franklin  held  his  position  until  after 
dark,  and  during  the  night  fell  back  to  Malvern." 

General  McClellan  fails  to  state  that  the  enemy's 
cavalry  did  cross,  and  another  fact,  probably  unknown  to 
him  when  he  wrote,  that  General  Stonewall  Jackson  and 
his  able  lieutenant,  General  D.  H.  Hill,  both  crossed  over 
with  their  cavalry  to  "  get  the  lay  of  the  land,"  which 
they  succeeded  in  doing,  but  did  not  remain  long  enough 
to  cultivate  any  of  it,  as  will  be  shown  by  the  following 
account  of  the  affair  given  by  General  Hill  himself.  He 
says  (Century  Magazine,  vol.  30)  :  "  A  high  bluff  was  on 
our  side  of  the  little  stream  called  White  Oak,  and  a  large 
uncultivated  field  on  the  other  side.  In  the  field  could  be 
seen  a  battery  of  artillery  supported  by  a  brigade  of  in 
fantry, — artillerists  and  infantry  lying  down  apparently 
asleep.  Under  cover  of  Munford's  regiment  of  cavalry, 
thirty-one  pieces  of  artillery  were  placed  upon  the  bluff, 
and  were  ordered  to  open  fire  as  soon  as  the  cavalry  mask 
was  removed.  The  battery  fired  its  loaded  guns  in  reply, 
and  then  galloped  off,  followed  by  its  infantry  supports, 
and  the  long  lines  of  infantry  further  back  in  the  field. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Munford  crossed  his  regiment  over  the  ford,  and  Jack 
son  and  myself  went  with  him  to  see  what  had  become 
of  the  enemy.  We  soon  found  out.  The  battery  had 
taken  up  a  position  behind  a  point  of  woods,  where  it 
was  perfectly  sheltered  from  our  guns,  but  could  play 
upon  the  broken  bridge  and  ford,  and  upon  every  part 
of  the  uncultivated  field.  It  opened  with  grape  and 
canister  upon  us,  and  we  retired  rapidly.  Fast  riding  in 
the  wrong  direction  is  not  military,  but  it  is  sometimes 
healthy."  He  adds:  '*  Our  cavalry  returned  by  a  lower 
ford,  and  pronounced  it  perfectly  practicable  for  infan 
try.  But  Jackson  did  not  advance.  Why  was  this? 
It  was  a  critical  day  for  both  commanders,  but  especially 
for  McClellan.  With  consummate  skill  he  had  crossed 
his  vast  train  of  five  thousand  wagons  and  his  immense 
parks  of  artillery  safely  over  White  Oak  Swamp,  but  he 
zvas  more  exposed  now  than  at  any  time  in  his  flank 
inarch.  Three  columns  of  attack  were  converging  upon 
him,  and  a  strong  corps  was  pressing  upon  his  rear. 
Escape  seemed  impossible  for  him,  but  he  did  escape, 
at  the  same  time  inflicting  heavy  damage  upon  his 
pursuers." 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  much  comment  and  surprise 
that  General  Jackson,  having  with  him  a  large  force, — 
his  own  and  D.  H.  Hill's  commands, — with  forty  or  fifty 
pieces  of  artillery  and  several  regiments  o<f  cavalry,  should 
halt  and  hesitate  at  White  Oak  Swamp  crossing,  when 
Lee  expected  him  to  strike  a  heavy  blow  at  this  point  on 
McClellan's  retiring  army.  Major  Dabney,  in  his  life 
of  Jackson,  thus  comments  on  the  inaction,  at  this  time, 
of  that  officer :  "  On  this  occasion  it  would  appear, 
if  the  vast  interests  dependent  upon  General  Jackson's 

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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

co-operation  with  the  proposed  attack  upon  the  centre 
were  considered,  that  he  came  short  of  the  efficiency  in 
action  for  which  he  was  everywhere  else  noted." 

General  Jackson  in  his  report  intimates  that  his  whole 
command,  consisting  of  three  divisions  and  D.  H.  Hill's 
division  of  five  brigades,  were  all  at  White  Oak  bridge 
on  the  30th  of  June.  He  says :  "  It  was  soon  seen  that 
the  enemy  occupied  such  a  position  beyond  a  thick  inter 
vening  wood  on  the  right  of  the  road  as  enabled  him  to 
command  the  crossing." 

General  Lee  says :  "  Jackson  having  been  unable  to 
force  the  passage  of  White  Oak  Swamp,  Longstreet  and 
A.  P.  Hill  were  without  the  expected  support." 

Having  given,  in  the  foregoing  accounts,  extracts  from 
reports  of  some  of  the  commanders  on  both  sides,  and 
other  sources,  a  general  idea  of  the  most  important  move 
ments  of  the  army,  especially  those  with  which  Naglee's 
brigade  (and  consequently  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania 
as  a  part  thereof)  was  connected,  let  us  recite  more  in 
detail  the  movements  of  the  brigade  as  told  by  General 
Naglee  himself,  in  his  report,  also  by  extracts  from 
Colonel  Davis's  History  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Pennsylvania  and  from  the  diary  of  Colonel  Hoyt,  of  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania. 

Colonel  Davis  says  of  this  White  Oak  Swamp  affair: 
"  As  soon  as  the  trains  and  artillery  were  over,  details 
of  men  were  sent  out  to  destroy  the  bridge.  When  morn 
ing  dawned  a  large  force  was  found  to  be  in  the  imme 
diate  vicinity,  and  an  immense  number  of  wagons  and 
several  pontoon  trains  encumbered  the  fields  and  roads. 
The  pickets  were  skirmishing  in  the  swamp  across  the 
creek  that  runs  through  it.  A  great  effort  was  made 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

to  get  the  wagons  out  of  the  way,  and  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible  train  after  train  was  pushed  into  the  road  and 
started  off  for  James  River.  At  10  o'clock  the  brigade 
was  got  under  arms  and  attached  to  Smith's  division.  It 
was  placed  in  position  by  General  Naglee,  about  a  half- 
mile  from  the  crossing,  and  was  the  last  of  several  lines. 
A  portion  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  was  deployed 
into  the  swamp.  .  .  .  Everything  being  in  readiness 
for  action,  the  men  were  allowed  to  stack  arms  and  with 
draw  to  the  shade  of  the  neighboring  timber.  Here 
they  kindled  fires  and  cooked  dinner.  The  scene  resem 
bled  a  great  picnic.  The  enemy  pushed  after  us  immedi 
ately  from  the  Chickahominy,  and  were  close  in  our  rear. 
Our  engineers  had  hardly  destroyed  the  swamp  bridge  and 
retired,  before  his  skirmishers  came  up  to  reconnoitre. 
For  several  hours  the  swamp  only  divided  the  opposing 
forces.  The  action  began  about  noon.  Without  a  note 
of  warning  the  enemy  suddenly  run  his  artillery  forward 
from  behind  the  opposite  hills  and  opened  several  bat 
teries  on  our  army  while  the  men  were  lounging  on  the 
grass  eating  their  dinner.  The  shock  was  so  sudden 
that  everybody  seemed  stunned,  and  for  a  few  moments 
there  was  a  scene  of  great  confusion.  Our  guns  had 
been  placed  in  battery  early  in  the  day.  The  gunners 
stood  ready,  and  soon  they  thundered  at  the  enemy  in 
reply.  The  distance  was  hardly  a  mile  and  they  had 
our  exact  range.  Their  shells  burst  constantly  over  and 
among  our  troops.  The  air  seemed  filled  with  their 
projectiles.  The  official  reports  of  the  action  state  that 
the  guns  on  both  sides  did  not  number  less  than  a  hun 
dred.  .  .  .  Dead  and  wounded  were  carried  to  the 
rear  every  few  moments;  the  former  were  buried  near- 

8s 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

by,  while  the  latter  were  taken  to  a  neighboring  house 
which  had  been  converted  into  a  hospital.  The  enemy 
made  repeated  efforts  to  cross  the  swamp  while  this 
cannonading  was  going  on,  but  in  each  case  was  pre 
vented.  The  suddenness  of  the  attack  created  consider 
able  confusion  among  the  trains,  and  there  was  danger  of 
a  general  stampede.  An  Irish  camp-woman  belonging 
to  a  New  York  regiment  made  herself  quite  conspicuous 
during  the  action.  She  remained  close  to  the  side  of  her 
husband,  and  refused  to  retire  to  a  place  of  safety.  She 
was  full  of  pluck.  Occasionally  she  would  notice  some 
fellow  sneaking  to  the  rear,  when  she  would  run  after 
him,  seize  him  by  the  nape  of  the  neck,  and  place  him  in 
the  ranks  again,  calling  him  a  '  dirty,  cowardly  spal 
peen,'  and  other  choice  epithets.  The  flying  shells  had 
no  terrors  for  her.  During  the  hottest  of  the  cannon 
ade,  this  courageous  woman  walked  fearlessly  about 
among  the  troops,  encouraging  them  to  stand  up  to  their 
work.  Her  only  weapon,  offensive  or  defensive,  was  a 
large  umbrella  she  carried  under  her  arm.  In  one  in 
stance  she  shamed  a  commissioned  officer  into  returning 
to  his  duty.  She  belonged  to  the  Irish  brigade 
(Meagher's),  and  her  stout  person,  full,  red  face,  and 
broad  language  betrayed  her  undoubted  origin. 

"  About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  heavy  firing  was 
heard  on  the  left,  where  the  troops  of  Sumner  and  Mc- 
Call  were  fighting  the  enemy  at  Glendale.  A  brigade  was 
sent  off  to  re-enforce  those  troops.  Naglee  became  so 
much  interested  in  the  progress  of  events  in  that  quarter 
towards  evening,  that  he  rode  in  that  direction  to  en 
deavor  to  obtain  information.  In  a  short  time  he  re 
turned  at  a  gallop,  shouting  as  he  came,  '  All's  right; 

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we've  repulsed  them.'  The  cannonade  ceased  soon  after 
dark,  with  the  exception  of  two  of  our  guns  which  con 
tinued  to  fire  at  intervals  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  until 
after  midnight.  Franklin  gradually  and  silently  with 
drew  his  troops  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening,  leaving 
only  Naglee's  brigade  and  the  two  field-pieces  to  watch 
the  crossing  of  the  swamp.  Again  his  little  command 
became  the  rear  guard  and  interposed  between  our  retir 
ing  columns  and  the  pursuing  enemy.  He  (Naglee)  was 
ordered  to  follow  at  10  o'clock.  At  that  hour  he  took 
up  the  line  of  march,  with  his  whole  brigade,  ay  he  sup 
posed,  but  he  took  with  him  only  part  of  it,  viz.,  the 
Eleventh  Maine,  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  and  a  por 
tion  of  the  One  Hundredth  New  York,  leaving  the  Fifty- 
sixth  New  York,  remainder  of  the  One  Hundredth  New 
York,  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  on 
the  field.  He  gave  the  command  at  the  head  of  the 
column  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  and  the  order  was  not  re 
peated  throughout  the  line.  Some  who  saw  him  move 
off  were  not  aware  that  it  was  a  general  movement,  but 
supposed  him  to  be  taking  part  of  the  brigade  into  the 
swamp  to  put  it  on  picket.  His  assistant  adjutant-general 
(Captain  Johnston),  who  did  not  notice  the  movement, 
was  left  behind.  .  .  .  Colonel  Van  Wyck  was  now 
the  senior  officer  present,  and  should  have  assumed  com 
mand,  but  declined  to  do  so.  Captain  Johnston,  the 
assistant  adjutant-general,  was  then  appealed  to  to  con 
duct  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  off  the  field  and  follow 
the  march  of  the  army,  but  he  declined  to  move  without 
an  order  from  the  general,  who  was  not  present  to  give 
it.  ...  Those  who  were  with  the  rear  guard  at 
White  Oak  Swamp  crossing  will  long  remember  it.  The 

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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

situation  was  extremely  critical  for  that  portion  of 
Naglee's  brigade  left  behind.  There  was  not  a  sentinel 
between  the  two  armies  to  announce  the  approach  of  the 
enemy.  Our  two  guns  threw  an  occasional  shell  to  give 
notice  that  we  still  occupied  the  ground.  He  was  already 
busy  at  work  rebuilding  the  bridge  to  cross  over.  The 
distant  sound  of  the  drum  of  his  infantry  and  the  rattle 
of  his  gun-carriages  could  be  heard  as  the  enemy  came  up 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  swamp.  He  appeared  to  be 
massing  his  forces  for  a  desperate  assault  at  daylight, 
under  the  supposition  that  our  army  would  again  dispute 
his  advance  at  that  point.  ...  It  was  now  2  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  ist  of  July.  [NOTE. — The  day  of 
the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill]  Colonel  Van  Wyck  finally 
assumed  command  and  the  march  was  commenced." 

Having  no  guide  that  knew  the  roads,  they  turned 
to  the  right  at  the  first  cross-roads  and  were  marching 
towards  Glendale  when  they  met  the  rear  guard  from  that 
battle-field  coming  in.  The  column  was  then  counter 
marched  and  followed  this  other  rear  guard  down  the 
Charles  City  road, — thus  becoming  the  rear  guard  of  the 
rear  guard, — the  last,  except  the  stragglers,  to  leave  the 
field. 

"  Several  of  the  officers  and  men  were  really  too  sick 
to  march,  and  all  their  physical  strength  was  taxed  to 
keep  up  with  the  command.  But  the  law  of  necessity 
compelled  them  to  it,  for  to  fall  behind  was  to  ensure 
almost  certain  capture.  Consequently  there  was  no 
straggling  among  Naglee's  men.  The  command  reached 
the  field  of  Malvern  early  in  the  forenoon,  where  they 
stacked  anus  and  lay  down  to  rest,  as  they  had  marched 
fifteen  miles  since  leaving  White  Oak  Swamp.  The 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

enemy  was  not  far  behind,  for  within  an  hour  the  fire  of 
his  advance  could  be  heard  as  he  drove  in  our  pickets." 

Colonel  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsyl 
vania,  gives  a  vivid  description  of  this  White  Oak  Swamp 
action  in  his  "  journal,"  which  was  included  in  the  ad 
dress  made  by  his  son  Henry  M.  Hoyt  (lately  deceased) 
to  the  "  Survivors'  Association  "  at  Tunkhannock  a  few 
years  ago.  "  At  twelve  o'clock  precisely,"  he  says,  "  a 
moment  long  to  be  remembered,  the  very  gates  of  hell  are 
opened  on  us.  The  plans  of  the  rebels  now  come  to  a 
head,  and  their  long  morning  of  quiet  is  ended.  Twenty- 
five  guns  open  at  once  upon  us,  sweeping  the  field  with 
shot,  shell,  railroad  iron,  and  every  conceivable  imple 
ment.  In  forty  seconds  our  batteries  are  blown  to  pieces, 
the  horses  are  tearing  through  the  field,  loose  leaves  are 
whirling  all  about,  and  regiments  break  into  ruin.  Thank 
God,  Naglee's  brigade  stands  firm  and  withstands  the 
panic.  Regiments  and  brigades  are  arrested  by  it,  and 
a  few  moments  save  the  Grand  Army.  What  a  moment ! 
So  it  lasts  all  afternoon.  Balls  fall  all  around  us, 
ricochetting  over  us.  We  actually  dodge  them  as  we 
would  at  play.  Richardson,  Franklin,  Smith,  Naglee, 
Meagher,  all  are  here  and  in  the  thick  of  it.  In  an  hour 
the  rebels  cease  somewhat.  We  wheel  down  four  guns 
of  Hazzard's  battery,  and  the  fearful  work  again  begins. 
For  two  hours  this  wonderful  duel  goes  on.  The  Fifty- 
second  is  exactly  behind  their  own  battery  and  catch  all 
that  is  meant  for  them.  Then  we  silence  the  enemy.  In 
the  meantime  efforts  are  made  by  them  to  crush  our  in 
fantry,  and  our  lines  are  moved  to  and  fro  in  haste. 
Away  two  miles  to  our  left  they  are  making  another 
effort  to  finish  the  army;  that,  too,  is  gallantly  repulsed. 

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Our  pontoon  train  has  now  been  burning  since  noon,  and 
to-night  it  is  lurid.  Our  guns  still  bellow  across  the 
swamp.  Now  come  our  preparations  to  retire  to  James 
River.  How  we  marched  the  batteries  and  cavalry  and 
infantry  down  past  the  blazing  train;  how  we  counter 
marched  in  the  shade;  how  orders  were  issued  in  bated 
breath;  how  we  waited  for  the  wearied  veterans  of  Mc- 
Call  to  get  in  from  the  left;  how  we  finally  moved,  and 
our  drag,  drag,  drag  without  water  all  the  long  night 
for  fourteen  miles,  and  how  only  after  broad  daylight 
did  we  reach  the  plain  on  the  river, — all  this  is  burned 
into  us.  Our  thoughts  were, — is  the  army  safe?  Can 
it  be  saved  with  the  slaughter  of  the  rear  guard?  We 
brought  up  the  rear  on  the  inner  road ;  on  this  plain  we 
found  the  great  impedimenta  belli,  our  baggage  train, 
miles  and  miles  long.  How  was  it  ever  saved, — and  sup 
pose  it  had  rained  before  it  reached  White  Oak  Swamp  ?" 
General  Naglee  in  his  report,  and  Colonel  Davis  in  his 
account,  assume  that  as  "  rear  guard  "  Naglee's  brigade 
was  the  last  command  to  leave  the  field  and  go  through 
the  swamp.  By  accident  or  oversight  a  battery  of  artil 
lery  of  Richardson's  division  had  been  left  behind,  which 
came  through  early  in  the  morning  just  before  the  bridge 
was  destroyed.  General  Franklin  relates  the  incident 
as  follows :  "  After  the  fight  at  Savage's  Station  was  over, 
Hazzard's  battery  of  Richardson's  division  was  un 
hitched,  its  captain  not  supposing  there  was  to  be  any 
further  movement  that  night,  and  the  men  and  horses 
went  to  sleep,  as  usual  when  there  was  opportunity, 
which  was  not  often  in  those  days.  The  division  moved 
off,  and  by  accident  no  notice  of  the  movement  was  sent 
to  Captain  Hazzard.  On  the  next  morning  he  heard 

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reveille  sounded  by  drums  and  trumpets  from  positions 
that  he  knew  our  troops  did  not  hold  the  evening  before. 
Everything  in  his  vicinity  was  quiet.  He  took  in  the 
situation  at  once.  He  had  been  left  behind,  and  the 
enemy  might  be  upon  him  at  any  moment.  He  had  the 
battery  quietly  hitched  up,  sent  the  caissons  off  in  ad 
vance,  and  bringing  up  the  rear  with  two  guns  ready  to 
open  on  a  pursuing  force,  started  off  at  a  walk.  When 
he  was  clear  of  the  field  he  ordered  the  battery  to  trot; 
and  without  harm  arrived  at  the  White  Oak  bridge  at 
that  pace  just  as  General  Richardson  was  destroying  it. 
He  crossed  in  safety.  The  pluck  and  coolness  shown  in 
this  exploit  of  Captain  Hazzard  were  admirable.  He 
was  killed  the  next  day  while  doing  excellent  work  with 
his  battery." 


CHAPTER  X. 

NAGLEE' s  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  "  CHANGE  OF  BASE.  " 

HAVING  given  the  accounts  as  recited  by  Colonel  Davis 
and  Colonel  Hoyt,  it  seems  proper  to  include  a  statement 
of  "  rear  guard "  duty  as  recited  by  General  Naglee 
himself,  and,  taking  the  three  accounts  together,  we  have 
a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  part  taken  by  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  in  McClellan's  masterly  "  change  of  base  " 
to  the  James  River. 

"  On  the  27th,"  says  General  Naglee  in  his  report, 
"  orders  were  received  from  General  McClellan  by  Gen 
eral  Keyes,  directing  that  the  railroad  and  Bottoms 
Bridges  over  the  Chickahominy  should  be  held  at  all 
hazards,  and  if  pressed  the  bridges  should  be  destroyed. 
This  important  service  was  entrusted  to  my  brigade. 
Upon  the  first  intimation  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy 
in  this  direction,  I  had  lined  the  Chickahominy  between 
the  bridges,  and  a  mile  above  and  below  them,  with  the 
sharp-shooters  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  and 
Eleventh  Maine,  and  had  placed  the  especial  charge  of 
the  railroad  bridge  with  Colonel  Plaisted  and  the  re 
mainder  of  his  Eleventh  Maine  Regiment.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Hoyt,  the  Fifty-sixth  New  York,  Colonel  Van 
Wyck,  and  One  Hundredth  New  York,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Stanton,  were  distributed  in  the  redoubts  and 
rifle-pits,  and  on  picket  duty.  .  .  .  During  the  26th 
the  only  evidence  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy  was  the 
constant  roar  of  the  artillery  borne  upon  the  breeze  from 
the  desperate  conflict  at  Mechanicsville ;  on  the  27th  small 

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icconnoitring  parties  approached  the  Chickahominy,  but 
they  soon  learned  to  respect  the  presence  of  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania  and  Eleventh  Maine,  that  were  con 
cealed  in  that  swamp,  waist  deep  in  water. 

"  On  the  28th,  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Gaines's 
Mills,  there  were  indications  of  activity  in  our  immediate 
neighborhood.  From  early  morning,  cavalry  watched 
our  industrious  efforts  to  complete  our  earthworks.  In 
fantry  pressed  into  the  woods  and  skirmished  with  our 
picket  line,  but  too  close  an  approach  to  my  sharp 
shooters,  concealed  in  the  swamp,  soon  led  to  great 
caution.  About  noon  a  large  force  reported  as  two  bri 
gades  moved  down  to  the  railroad.  A  battery  of  artil 
lery,  with  cavalry,  supported  by  two  regiments  of  infan 
try,  crossed  the  railroad,  and  under  cover  of  the  wood, 
took  a  position  upon  the  high  ground  facing  the  Chicka 
hominy  and  about  one  thousand  yards  from  the  bridges. 
Making  every  preparation,  I  awaited  their  attack  and 
ordered  Miller's  battery  to  respond  slowly  but  skilfully 
until  he  learned  the  range.  I  directed  Morgan  and  Brady 
to  test  the  range  in  the  same  manner,  and  with  about  an 
hour's  practice  we  were  fully  prepared.  Half  an  hour 
afterwards  I  observed  changes  of  position,  as  if  in  prep 
aration  for  an  attack,  and  ordered  the  three  batteries 
to  increase  their  fire,  and  to  concentrate  it  upon  the  troops 
that  were  moving.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  withdraw  into  the  woods.  I  then 
concentrated  the  fire  upon  the  battery,  which,  by  4  o'clock, 
was  so  effectually  silenced  that  it  responded  but  seldom 
during  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon. 

"  On  the  2Qth  large  bodies  of  the  enemy  were  con 
stantly  hovering  around  in  force,  but  he  did  not  renew 

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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

the  attack,  being  fully  occupied  in  the  terrific  struggle 
that  continued  through  this  clay  at  Savage  Station.  At 
7  P.M.  the  destruction  of  the  railroad  was  made  complete 
by  running  into  the  gap  the  locomotive  and  long  train  of 
cars  filled  with  immense  quantities  of  ammunition,  which 
exploded  with  such  terrific  power  that  it  shook  the  earth, 
and  the  white  smoke  ascended  in  a  column  so  grand,  so 
magnificent,  that  all  stood  spellbound,  and  impressed  to 
that  extent  that  it  cannot  be  forgotten.  At  10  P.M., 
the  army  and  its  trains  having  passed  by  the  road  less  than 
two  miles  in  rear  of  these  bridges,  the  necessity  of  hold 
ing  this  position  no  longer  existed,  and  I  received  instruc 
tions  from  General  McClellan  to  followr  with  the  rear 
guard  and  cross  the  White  Oak  Swamp  bridge.  It  was 
nearly  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  3Oth  of  June  when 
the  brigade  bivouacked  on  the  rising  ground  near  to  and 
commanding  the  White  Oak  Swamp  bridge. 

"  At  i o  A.M.  Naglee's  brigade  was  ordered  by  General 
McClellan  to  report  immediately  for  duty  to  Brigadier- 
General  W.  F.  Smith,  and  by  1 1  o'clock  it  was  in  line  of 
battle,  perpendicular  to  and  the  right  resting  on  the 
main  road  leading  from  the  White  Oak  Swamp  bridge, 
with  the  left  on  the  swamp,  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
from  the  bridge,  a  portion  of  the  Fifty-second  being  de 
ployed  in  the  swamp  extending  from  the  brigade  to  the 
bridge.  All  the  space  between  the  swamp  and  the  line  occu 
pied  by  my  brigade  was  covered  with  troops,  infantry  and 
artillery,  belonging  to  the  divisions  of  Smith  and  Rich 
ardson,  under  command  of  General  Franklin,  who  was 
ordered  to  hold  the  position  and  prevent  the  passage  of 
the  bridge,  that  the  army  might  continue  the  retreat  from 
the  peninsula.  .  .  .  Frequent  efforts  were  made  by 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

the  enemy  to  cross  the  bridge  and  swamp,  but  he  was  as 
frequently  repulsed.  .  .  .  At  10  o'clock  P.M.  I  was 
ordered  to  follow  General  Smith's  division  and  made 
immediate  preparations  to  retreat  as  soon  as  the  divi 
sion  should  file  off.  The  brigade  arrived  on  the  follow 
ing  morning  at  Haxall's,  on  the  James  River,*  at  6 
o'clock  A.M.,  on  the  ist  of  July,  after  a  march  of  17  miles. 
.  .  .  Thus  for  seven  days  were  the  men  of  my  brigade 
constantly  on  duty.  On  the  26th,  2fth,  28th,  and  zptk  of 
June  the  safety  of  the  army  depended  upon  our  holding  the 
railroad  and  Bottoms  bridges,  and  on  the  30th  on  holding 
the  bridge  at  White  Oak  Swamp.  Many,  day  and  night 
for  four  days,  stood  to  their  middle  in  the  ivater  of  the 
Chickahominy  Swamp,  and,  all  impressed  with  the  re 
sponsible  duty  required  of  them,  served  their  country  in 
this  hour  of  trial,  enduring  the  most  excessive  labor,  fa 
tigue,  and  exhaustion,  with  extraordinary  endurance  and 
cheerfulness;  and  well  may  they  and  their  friends,  in  all 
the  future,  refer  to  these  gallant  deeds  and  trials,  ivith  the 
conscious  pride  that  they  are  deserving  the  thanks  and 
remembrance  of  their  country." 

*  General  Naglee  does  not  mention  the  fact  that  part  of  his 
brigade  was  left  at  White  Oak  Swamp  bridge  until  2  o'clock  the 
next  morning, — an  incident  related  in  Colonel  Davis's  account, 
which  has  already  been  given. 


95 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MALVERN  HILL. 

ONLY  a  portion  of  Keyes's  corps — Couch's  division — 
was  actually  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill. 
Naglee's  brigade,  which  had  been  on  duty  as  rear  guard 
on  the  Chickahominy  and  at  White  Oak  crossing,  formed 
part  of  the  reserve  during  the  ist  of  July  fighting.  The 
numerous  batteries  of  artillery  posted  on  the  sloping  hill 
side  encircling  the  centre  of  our  position  did  most  of  the 
sad  havoc  wrought  among  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  which 
again  and  again  during  the  day,  and  until  late  in  the 
evening,  charged  up  the  slopes  in  vain  attempts  to  cap 
ture  them.  All  these  efforts  of  the  enemy  were  repulsed 
with  terrible  slaughter, — shot  and  shell,  and  grape  and 
canister,  decimating  his  ranks, — until  the  repeated  fail 
ures  convinced  him  of  the  hopelessness  of  the  struggle; 
which  was  not  given  up,  however,  until  darkness  fell 
upon  the  fateful  field.  The  shattered  hosts  of  the  Con 
federates  were  greatly  demoralized  after  the  close  of  the 
engagement.  The  condition  of  things  on  their  side  is  set 
forth  by  Trimble's  (Confederate)  account  embodied 
in  Lee's  report.  He  says :  "  The  next  morning  by  dawn 
I  went  off  to  ask  for  orders,  when  I  found  the  whole 
(Confederate)  army  in  the  utmost  disorder.  Thousands 
of  straggling  men  were  asking  every  passer-by  for  their 
regiments;  ambulances,  wagons,  and  artillery  were  ob 
structing  every  road,  and  altogether,  in  a  drenching  rain, 
presenting  a  scene  of  the  most  woeful  and  heart-rending 
confusion." 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Notwithstanding  these  conditions  on  the  enemy's  side, 
the  order  was  given  by  McClellan  to  retreat  to  the  river  at 
Harrison's  Landing,  and  when  in  the  gray  dawn  the 
Confederates  looked  up  to  Malvern  Hill,  they  saw  no 
trace  of  the  grim  batteries  and  serried  lines  against  which 
they  had  dashed  themselves  in  pieces.  "  In  the  darkness 
and  storm,"  says  one  writer  (William  Cullen  Bryant's 
History  of  the  United  States),  "  through  mud  and  mire, 
McClellan  had  fled  from  the  field  of  a  great  victory,  as 
though  it  had  been  one  of  a  crushing  defeat."  General 
Hooker  says  of  this  flight :  "  We  were  ordered  to  re 
treat,  and  it  was  like  the  retreat  of  a  routed  army.  We 
retreated  like  a  parcel  of  sheep.  Every  one  was  on  the 
road  at  the  same  time,  and  a  few  shots  from  the  rebels 
would  have  panic-stricken  the  whole  command."-  Keyes 
was  again  placed  in  command  of  the  rear  guard,  and 
received  from  McClellan  instructions  as  follows :  "  Bring 
along  all  the  wagons  you  can;  but  they  are  to  be  sacri 
ficed,  of  course,  rather  than  imperil  your  safety.  Celer 
ity  of  movement  is  the  sole  security  of  this  position." 
The  two  brigades  detailed  by  Keyes  for  this  duty  were 
Naglee's  and  Wessells's.  After  marching  about  three 
miles  below  Haxall's,  these  brigades  were  formed  in  line 
of  battle,  supported  by  artillery,  where  they  remained 
until  the  disordered  army  had  poured  past  them  in  a  liv 
ing  stream  towards  the  river. 

The  last  of  the  Seven  Days'  Battles  had  been  fought 
and  won.  The  victorious  army  had  ignominiously  fled 
from  Malvern  Hill,  leaving  a  defeated  and  disorganized 
mass  of  the  enemy  in  possession  of  an  impregnable  posi 
tion,  vacated  unnecessarily  by  a  weak-kneed,  if  not  a 
weak-hearted,  commander,  who  was  ever  ready  to  over- 
7  97 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

estimate  the  numbers  and  condition  of  his  opponents' 
forces  and  underestimate  his  own.  The  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  safely  encamped  at  Harrison's  Landing 
under  protection  of  the  gunboats,  and  there  it  was  des 
tined  for  the  next  month  and  a  half  to  remain.  Its 
commander  here  had  time  for  reflection,  and  upon  July 
7th  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  President  Lincoln,  not  ex 
plaining,  as  he  might  have  been  expected  to  do,  the  failure 
of  his  campaign,  but,  instead,  giving  the  President  his 
views  at  length  of  how  to  run  the  government,  laying 
down  a  "  policy  "  which  he  condescendingly  urges  upon 
the  chief  executive  of  the  nation  in  the  following  words : 
"  A  system  of  policy  thus  constitutional  and  conserva 
tive,  and  pervaded  by  the  influences  of  Christianity  and 
freedom,  would  receive  the  support  of  almost  all  truly 
loyal  men,  would  deeply  impress  the  rebel  masses  and  all 
foreign  nations,  and  it  might  be  humbly  hoped  that  it 
would  commend  itself  to  the  favor  of  the  Almighty." 

The  long-suffering  patient  Lincoln  never  noticed  this 
insolent  letter, — not  even  enough  to  answer  it.  But  he 
went  down  to  Harrison's  Landing  to  see  the  army  and, 
among  other  things,  to  find  out  how  many  there  were 
left  of  it,  McClellan  having  reported  "  only  50,000  with 
their  colors."  He  had  the  division  commanders  make  up 
returns  of  the  "  present  for  duty,"  and,  footing  it  up, 
found  the  total  to  be  86,500.  A  few  days  later  McClel 
lan  made  a  report  showing  88,665  present  for  duty,  with 
34,472  absent  with  authority,  making  a  total  of  123,137. 
It  was  the  contradiction  of  the  general's  oft-repeated 
statements  as  to  the  numbers  of  his  command,  and  of  his 
constant  complaints  of  disparity  in  forces  compared  with 
that  of  the  enemy.  General  Halleck,  who  had  lately  been 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

made  commander-in-chief,  also  came  down  from  Wash 
ington  to  take  a  look  at  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  on  the 
James.  He  found  the  "  boys  "  busy  patching  up  their 
well-worn  uniforms,  playing  cards  when  off  duty,  bathing 
in  the  river,  basking  in  the  sun  when  not  too  hot,  and 
sleeping  in  the  shade  whenever  they  had  an  opportunity. 
There  was  much  sickness  among  the  troops,  large  num 
bers  of  the  "  absent "  being  either  in  hospitals  or  on  sick 
leave.  It  was  a  time  for  rest,  recuperation,  reflection, 
and  recrimination.  There  was  much  of  the  latter  which 
was  not  confined  to  the  men  in  the  ranks  or  the  line  offi 
cers,  but  even  division  and  corps  commanders  had  their 
"  views,"  to  which  they  sometimes  gave  pretty  free  ex 
pression.  There  were  many  of  them  feeling  sore  on 
account  of  the  failure  of  plans,  many  disappointed  in 
their  ambitions  for  higher  commands,  many  jealous  of 
those  who  did  receive  promotion.  Altogether  the  army 
at  this  time  was  "  in  a  bad  way."  The  boys  knew,  or 
felt,  that  something  was  wrong,  but  not  being  permitted 
to  know  all  the  inside  history  of  current  events,  they 
simply  hoped  for  the  best,  and  were  willing  yet  to  do 
their  best  to  save  the  country.  Their  loyal  hearts  were 
yet  strong  in  the  faith  that  the  cause  for  which  they 
had  sacrificed  so  much,  and  for  which  they  were  willing 
to  sacrifice  still  more,  would  finally  be  gained.  They 
still  sang,  "  Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is 
just,  and  this  be  our  motto,  '  In  God  is  our  trust.'  " 
Then  they  sat  down  and  had  another  game,  and  went 
on  guard  whistling,  "  'Way  Down  South  in  Dixie.  " 
Thus  passed  away  the  long,  hot,  and  melancholy  days  of 
July,  1862. 


99 


CHAPTER  XII. 

LEE'S  DESIGNS  ON  WASHINGTON. 

BUT  the  enemy  was  not  idling  away  all  his  time. 
General  Lee  laid  plans  for  an  advance  on  Washington  as 
soon  as  he  became  satisfied  that  the  army  under  Mc- 
Clellan  did  not  intend  to  move  again  on  Richmond.  The 
Confederate  General  Longstreet,  in  his  account  of  "  Our 
March  against  Pope,"  says :  "  At  that  time  General  Lee 
was  feeling  very  certain  that  Richmond  was  in  no  imme 
diate  danger  from  an  advance  by  McClellan's  forces. 
He,  therefore,  began  at  once  preparations  for  a  vigorous 
campaign  against  Pope."  As  early  as  July  ipth,  Stone 
wall  Jackson's  corps  was  at  Gordonsville  in  the  advance, 
and  Stuart's  cavalry  hovering  around  towards  Freder- 
icksburg. 

The  Administration  became  very  anxious  over  the 
situation,  and  before  the  end  of  the  month  efforts  were 
made  to  have  McClellan  retire  from  the  James  River  and 
bring  his  army  back  in  front  of  Washington,  to  act  in 
conjunction  with  Pope.  The  united  efforts  of  the  Presi 
dent  and  General  Halleck,  favored  by  the  opinions  of  a 
number  of  McClellan's  corps  commanders,  failed  to  move 
him.  He  continued  to  ask  for  re-enforcements,  and  to 
ignore  the  desires  of  the  President  and  General  Halleck, 
until  forbearance  ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  On  July  3Oth 
he  was  ordered  to  send  away  his  sick,  to  which  he  paid 
no  attention.  On  that  day  he  said,  in  one  of  his  dis 
patches  to  Washington,  "  Should  it  be  determined  to 
withdraw  it  [his  army]  I  shall  look  upon  our  cause  as 
lost,  and  the  demoralization  of  the  army  as  certain." 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

The  order  to  send  away  his  sick  was  not  promptly 
obeyed  because  General  McClellan  insisted  upon  knowing 
the  intentions  of  the  Government  in  regard  to  his  army ; 
and,  after  being  informed  that  it  was  to  be  withdrawn 
from  the  James,  several  days  more  were  wasted  in  weari 
some  interchange  of  dispatches  between  himself  and 
Halleck,  McClellan  protesting  with  the  greatest  energy 
and  feeling  against  this  movement,  and  Halleck  replying 
with  perfect  logic  and  temper  in  defence  of  it.  Weary 
at  last  of  arguments,  Halleck  became  more  and  more 
peremptory  in  his  orders;  and,  this  failing  to  infuse  any 
activity  into  the  movements  of  McClellan,  he  had  re 
course  to  sharp  dispatches  of  censure,  which  provoked 
only  excuses  and  recriminations.  In  some  of  his  re 
plies  to  Halleck's  urgent  dispatches,  enjoining  the  greatest 
haste  and  representing  the  grave  aspect  of  affairs  in 
northern  Virginia,  McClellan  replied  in  terms  that  indi 
cated  as  little  respect  for  Halleck  as  he  had  shown  for  the 
President  and  the  Secretary  of  War.  On  the  6th  of 
August,  in  answer  to  an  order  insisting  on  the  immediate 
dispatch  of  a  battery  of  artillery  to  Burnside,  he  calmly 
replies,  "  I  will  obey  the  order  as  soon  as  circumstances 
permit.  My  artillery  is  none  too  numerous  now."  On 
August  1 2th,  little  or  no  progress  having  yet  been  made, 
he  says :  "  There  shall  be  no  unnecessary  delay,  but  I  can 
not  manufacture  vessels.  It  is  not  possible  for  anyone 
to  place  this  army  where  you  wish  it,  ready  to  move,  in 
less  than  a  month.  If  Washington  is  in  danger  now, 
this  army  could  scarcely  arrive  in  time  to  save  it.  It  is 
in  much  better  position  to  do  so  from  here  than  from 
Aquia."  At  the  same  time  the  quartermaster-general  re 
ported  that  "  nearly  every  available  steam  vessel  in  the 

IOI 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

country  was  then   under  the  control  of   General   Mc- 
Clellan." 

The  order  for  the  army  to  move  was  issued  on  August 
nth,  but  countermanded  until  the  I4th.  The  corps  of 
Porter  and  Heintzelman  marched  on  the  I4th  and  Keyes 
on  the  1 5th.  The  wagons  were  sent  off  the  afternoon 
before.  Just  before  leaving  Harrison's  Landing  an  order 
was  received  to  dispense  with  regimental  bands,  and 
those  of  our  brigade  were  here  mustered  out  of  service, — 
the  date  of  muster  out  of  the  Fifty-second  band  being 
August  1 6th.  Some  dummy  sentinels  were  dressed  up 
and  placed  at  points  around  the  intrenched  camp  to  give 
the  impression  of  occupancy  to  the  inquisitive  videttes  of 
the  enemy.  Naglee's  brigade  took  up  its  line  of  march 
very  early  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th,  and  bivouacked 
the  first  night  near  Charles  City  C.  H.  in  a  corn-field.  The 
ears  were  fit  for  roasting,  and  the  crop  was  pretty  well 
taken  care  of  before  the  march  was  resumed.  The 
Chickahominy  was  crossed,  on  a  pontoon  bridge  twenty- 
two  hundred  feet  long  at  Barrett's  ferry,  about  noon  of 
the  1 6th,  and  on  the  I7th  the  brigade  lay  within  four 
miles  of  Williamsburg ;  the  next  night  six  miles  east  of 
that  place,  where  it  lay  until  the  iQth,  meantime  being 
mustered  for  inspection,  under  orders  from  the  War 
Department.  On  the  2Oth  the  march  was  resumed,  pass 
ing  through  Yorktown  about  noon,  and  camping  three 
miles  below  the  town,  at  Wormley's  Creek.  The  army 
debarked  at  three  different  places, — Yorktown,  Newport 
News,  and  Fort  Monroe.  By  the  23d  all  had  been 
shipped  on  transports  except  the  Second  Corps  and  Peck's 
(formerly  Casey's)  division  of  Keyes's  corps.  Sumner's 
(Second)  corps  followed  in  a  few  days,  leaving  Peck's 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

division  on  the  peninsula.  It  was  said  that  a  raid  by  the 
enemy  on  our  outposts  at  Williamsburg  caused  the  de 
tention  of  the  division.  Two  brigades  were  sent  to  Suf 
folk,  Va.,  and  Naglee's  old  brigade,  now  under  command 
of  General  Emory,  a  cavalry  officer,  remained  at  York- 
town.  Colonel  Davis  with  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Ninety-eighth  New  York,  soon 
after  replaced  by  the  One  Hundredth  New  York,  were 
sent  across  the  York  River  to  occupy  the  works  at 
Gloucester  Point,  while  the  other  regiments  occupied 
the  intrenchments  environing  Yorktown,  mounting  more 
than  one  hundred  heavy  guns.  Here,  in  addition  to  in 
fantry  duty,  the  men  were  instructed  as  heavy  artillerists. 
In  the  siege  of  Charleston,  in  which  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  was  afterwards  engaged,  this  training  was 
of  great  value.  The  head-quarters  of  General  Keyes 
was  established  at  Yorktown  for  a  short  time  only,  when 
the  old  Fourth  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  was  discon 
tinued.*  Couch's  division  had  gone  back  with  McClel- 
lan  and  Peck  had  established  his  head-quarters  at  Suffolk, 
Va.,  leaving  our  brigade  as  part  of  the  forces  under 
General  John  A.  Dix,  commander  at  Fortress  Monroe. 

*  There  was  a  Fourth  Army  Corps  afterwards  in  the  West,  which 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn. 


103 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DUTY    AT    YORKTOWN. 

AT  Yorktown  there  still  remained  outlines  of  some 
of  the  earthworks  erected  by  Cornwallis  when  he  was 
"  bottled  up  "  there  by  Washington,  and  forced  to  sur 
render  with  his  British  army  on  October  19,  1781,  after 
a  siege  lasting  nearly  two  months, — the  closing  scene  of 
the  Revolution.  Here  drilling,  guard  duty,  and  training 
on  the  heavy  artillery  guns  (so  lavishly  and  uselessly  pro 
vided  and  placed  there  to  satisfy  the  pick-and-shovel 
proclivities  of  McClellan)  occupied  the  time  and  atten 
tion  of  the  soldiers  for  several  months.  Fine  fresh  oys 
ters  and  fish  were  obtainable  from  fishermen's  boats  that 
came  to  the  landing,  and  it  was  no  impossible  undertaking 
to  bring  through  the  guard  lines,  from  "  somewhere,"  an 
occasional  canteen  of  whiskey, — for  medicinal  purposes. 

On  the  28th  of  September,  General  Naglee  returned 
and  resumed  command  of  the  brigade.  His  return  was 
heartily  welcomed  by  the  boys,  but  his  incessant  activity 
soon  caused  complaint  among  the  officers  and  men,  now 
somewhat  impressed  with  the  idea  of  "  taking  things 
easy  "  until  such  time  as  hard  work  was  needed.  He  dis 
covered  near  Gloucester  Point,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river  from  Yorktown,  a  wide  level  plain  on  which  a 
brigade  could  be  drilled  and  manoeuvred  very  easily.  So 
on  Sundays  he  would  take  the  Yorktown  regiments 
across  to  Gloucester,  combine  them  with  Colonel  Davis's 
two  regiments  there,  and  drill  them  for  hours  in  the  hot 
sun,  putting  them  through  all  the  evolutions  he  could 
think  of, — and  he  could  think  of  a  lot.  Colonel  Davis, 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

who  considered  himself  the  commander  of  the  post  at 
Gloucester,  did  not  like  this  encroachment  upon  his  do 
main,  and  in  his  book  says :  "  There  was  no  necessity  for 
such  military  display  in  the  absence  of  active  operations." 
But  there  were  active  operations  and  "  something  doing" 
always  when  Naglee  was  in  the  saddle.  In  the  latter 
part  of  November  a  raid  was  made  up  into  Mathews 
County,  Va.,  the  force  being  a  detail  of  about  three 
hundred  men  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  and 
Eleventh  Maine  under  the  command  of  Major  John  B. 
Conyngham.  They  went  up  the  east  river  at  night  on  a 
tug,  landing  about  two  miles  from  the  Mathews  Court 
House.  Forty  sailors  with  a  boat  howitzer,  under  Mas 
ter  Blake  of  the  navy,  accompanied  the  expedition.  They 
marched  ten  or  a  dozen  miles,  destroying  thirty  or  forty 
salt  kettles  and  about  three  thousand  bushels  of  salt. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November  General  John  A.  Dix 
came  up  from  Fort  Monroe  and  reviewed  the  troops  on 
the  Gloucester  plain.  He  was  a  fine-looking  old  gentle 
man.  He  did  not  give  instructions  that  "  The  first  man 
who  hauls  down  the  American  flag,  shoot  him  on  the 
spot!" 

Early  in  December  General  Naglee,  conceiving  the  idea 
that  his  brigade  drills,  regimental  drills,  guard  duty,  and 
three  hours  a  day  heavy  artillery  training  did  not  give  the 
soldiers  all  the  exercise  they  could  stand,  evolved  a  plan 
to  put  more  activity  into  their  daily  walks  of  life,  and  at 
the  same  time  stir  up  the  inhabitants  of  Gloucester  and 
adjoining  counties  by  paying  them  a  week-end  visit.  To 
that  end  he  marshalled  a  brigade  of  four  regiments, — the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  being  one, — Mink's  battery  of 
artillery,  and  two  squadrons  of  cavalry,  which  formidable 

105 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

force,  at  6  o'clock  A.M.,  December  nth,  debouched  upon 
the  plains  of  Gloucester  County  and  went  marching  along 
until  along  in  the  afternoon  it  went  into  bivouac  near 
Gloucester  C.  H.  Here  Naglee  joined  his  command, 
which  had  been  augmented — perhaps  re-enforced  would 
be  a  better  military  term  to  use — by  90  men  of  the 
Sixth  New  York  Cavalry  and  one  company  of  the  "  Lost 
Babies,"  sent  around  on  a  tug  by  way  of  Mathews  C.  H. 
and  overland  to  join  the  main  army.  When  a  junction 
had  been  effected  and  the  forces  concentrated,  they  were 
immediately  dispersed  by  detachments,  horse,  foot,  and 
dragoons  being  sent  out  in  all  directions  to  beat  up  the 
brush,  drive  away  the  rebel  cavalry,  intercept  contraband 
trade,  capture  or  destroy  material  and  supplies  intended 
for  the  rebel  army,  and  to  "  raise  cain "  generally, — 
which  they  generally  did.  One  detachment  went  to  Buena 
Vista  (not  in  Mexico),  where  they  drove  away  some  rebel 
rangers,  burning  their  barracks  and  destroying  their 
accumulation  of  supplies  and  forage.  The  Fourteenth 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry  squadron  was  sent  into  Middlesex 
County,  where  it  destroyed  a  large  tannery,  two  thousand 
hides,  and  brought  away  several  wagon-loads  of  leather. 
Many  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  overmarched  johnnies 
afterward  went  barefoot  on  account  of  this  raid.  The 
return  to  Yorktown  on  the  22d  was  like  to  the  return 
of  a  Roman  general  after  a  victorious  campaign  against 
the  Goths  and  Huns.  The  plunder  in  the  shape  of  horses, 
cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  corn,  etc.,  came  in  "  on  the  hoof,"  in 
carts  and  wagons,  and  on  the  backs  of  foragers.  Twenty 
prisoners  were  also  brought  in,  but,  to  the  credit  of  those 
engaged,  it  can  be  said  they  were  not  tied  to  the  cart 
wheels  of  the  victors.  This  was  the  parting  shot  at  the 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Old  Dominion,  for  shortly  thereafter  orders  were  issued 
for  the  preparation  of  ten  days'  cooked  rations,  and  for 
an  expedition  by  vessel  down  the  Atlantic  coast,  under 
sealed  orders,  not  to  be  opened  until  twenty  miles  south 
of  Cape  Henry. 


107 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  DIARY  OF  THE  TRIP  TO  THE  SOUTH. 

THESE  preparations  marked  the  beginning  of  two  and 
a  half  years'  service  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  in 
North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina.  The  story  of  leav 
ing  Yorktown,  and  of  the  trip  south,  is  told  in  the  fol 
lowing  extracts  from  the  diary  of  one  of  the  Fifty-second 
boys,  which  recalls  the  memory  of  some  of  the  experi 
ences  and  dangers  encountered  in  this  "  going  down  to  the 
sea  in  ships,"  and  is  introduced  here  to  give  an  idea 
of  the  daily  life  of  a  soldier  on  a  military  transport  in 
those  (stomach-)  stirring  times. 

YORKTOWN,  VA.,  Sunday,  Dec.  28,  1862. — We  waited, 
with  considerable  impatience,  all  day  for  transportation, 
as  we  had  packed  everything  up  and  were  living  on  our 
three  days'  cooked  rations  provided  for  our  journey,  and 
this  we  didn't  relish  very  well  (that  is,  the  idea,  not  the 
rations),  not  knowing  how  we  would  fare  on  the  trans 
ports.  Some  of  our  boys,  wishing  to  take  a  little  nip  of 
New  Year's  while  it  was  yet  to  be  had,  slung  canteens  and 
sallied  out  quietly  to  find  it. 

Monday,  Dec.  2$th. — The  old  steamboat  "  Georgia  " 
came  up  to-day,  and  we  marched  on  board,  bid  an  affec 
tionate  adieu  to  Yorktown,  and  started  down  the  river. 
On  the  way  down  met  a  tug-boat  coming  up  with  Major 
Conyngham  on  board.  The  tug  pulled  up  alongside  and 
the  major  came  on  deck  with  us.  Next  we  met  the  mail- 
boat  "  Thomas  Morgan,"  which  also  came  alongside,  to 
let  on  board  some  of  our  officers  who  had  been  down  to 
Fort  Monroe,  with  their  wives  and  friends  who  were 
returning  to  their  homes  after  a  visit  in  our  camp.  On 
arriving  off  the  Fort  the  colonel  went  on  shore  and  pro- 

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tan 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

tested  against  going  to  sea  in  such  an  old  unseaworthy 
boat.  The  captain  of  the  "  Georgia,"  it  is  said,  also 
refused  to  run  her  out.  They  telegraphed  to  Baltimore 
for  another  boat. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  30th. — At  night  it  came  and  we  were 
soon  on  board.  She  is  named  the  "  Expounder/'  for 
merly  the  "  Daniel  Webster,"  but  refitted  and  renamed. 
This  boat  was  built  at  Portland,  Me.,  in  1848,  and  had 
run  between  that  port  and  Bangor.  She  is  between  seven 
and  eight  hundred  tons  burden,  has  two  engines,  two 
stacks,  two  masts, — a  side-wheeler. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  3ist. — Having  everything  on  board, 
we  pulled  out  to  sea,  but  found  it  very  rough.  A  strong 
northeast  gale  was  blowing,  and  the  captain,  fearing 
trouble,  concluded  to  turn  back  and  find  safety  in  Hamp 
ton  Roads.  The  boat  being  loaded  quite  heavily  on  the 
top  deck  with  horses,  mules,  forage,  and  provisions,  it 
was  considered  top-heavy  and  a  dangerous  undertaking 
to  turn  against  the  wind  where  the  waves  should  take 
her  on  the  broadside.  It  was,  however,  safely  accom 
plished  by  running  out  three  or  four  miles,  the  only  acci 
dent  being  the  loss  of  a  mule  which  was  thrown  overboard 
from  the  top  deck  by  a  sudden  lurch  of  the  boat  in  mak 
ing  the  turn.  He  was  just  ass  enough  to  swim  away 
from  shore,  and  was  soon  lost  to  view  among  the  huge 
billows  of  the  Atlantic.  In  the  evening  we  were  again 
safely  anchored  in  the  Roads.  Some  of  our  boys  were 
already  heartily  sick  of  voyaging  and  would  willingly 
have  taken  the  trip  south  cross  lots  and  afoot,  on  empty 
stomachs,  the  contents  having  been  dumped  overboard. 
For  myself,  can  say  I  didn't  have  the  least  trouble  from 
sea  sickness. 

Thursday,  Jan.  i,  1863. — Woke  to  the  light  of  a  New 
Year's  morning,  and  of  course  wished  ourselves  many 
"  Happy  New  Year "  greetings  as  we  came  crawling 
up  out  of  the  hold.  The  captain  received  orders  to  go 
on,  which  he  determined  to  do  if  it  took  every  plank  out 
of  the  old  boat.  So  out  we  steamed,  passed  the  gunboat 

iog 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

we  are  to  follow  the  flag-ship.  In  getting  into  line  the 
steamer  "  New  England  "  ran  across  in  our  wake  so  near 
as  to  smash  the  pilot-boat  attached  to  our  stern  by  a 
tow  line.  This  made  it  necessary  for  us  to  run  back 
and  let  off  the  pilot,  which  we  did,  and  then  regained  our 
position  next  the  flag-ship,  which  we  retained  during  the 
rest  of  the  day  and  night. 

Friday,  Jan.  30th. — Everything  went  well  to-day,  mak 
ing  over  12  knots  an  hour.  The  "New  England"  (a 
side- wheeler  somewhat  larger  than  ours)  and  two  pro 
pellers  are  the  only  ones  now  in  sight  except  the 
"  Cahawba." 

Saturday,  Jan.  3ist. — This  morning  while  lying  to, 
waiting  for  daylight  to  run  into  Port  Royal,  we  heard 
some  firing  in  the  distance,  which  we  now  learn  was  at 
Charleston,  where  some  rebel  rams  attempted  to  break  up 
the  blockade.  It  is  rumored  that  two  of  our  blockading 
squadron  were  captured,  and  that  the  "  Keystone  State  " 
of  our  fleet,  was  hit  through  the  boiler,  scalding  a  number 
of  men  by  steam.  It  is  also  reported  that  our  blockading 
fleet  has  captured  an  Anglo-reb.  ship  with  a  valuable 
cargo  of  iron  plating  and  engines  for  the  manufacture  of 
more  rebel  rams. 

Sunday,  Feb.  ist. — The  transport  with  "  Les  Enfans 
Pcrdus,"  or,  as  we  call  them,  the  "  Lost  Babies,"  came 
into  port  this  morning. 

Thursday,  Feb.  5th. — Run  back  to  Hilton  Head  to-day, 
having  run  out  yesterday  to  avoid  danger  from  the 
storm  and  gale.  It  is  still  raining  hard.  The  U.  S.  mail 
steamer  "  Arago,"  from  New  York,  came  in  to-day. 

Sunday,  Feb.  8th. — To-day  the  transports  are  unload 
ing  at  the  landing  on  St.  Helena  Island.  We  will  prob 
ably  get  off  to-morrow.  General  Naglee,  it  is  reported, 
says  he  thinks  Charleston  will  be  attacked  within  two 
weeks.  Yesterday  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
turret  iron-clad  "  Weehawken  "  come  in,  making  three 
of  the  monitor  class  now  here.  The  "  New  Ironsides  " 
is  also  lying  here  in  the  harbor  with  steam  up,  and  a 

112 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

powerful  looking  craft  she  is.  Ship  of  the  line  "  Ver 
mont  "  and  the  steam  frigate  "  Wabash  "  are  also  here, 
with  other  vessels  and  craft  too  numerous  to  mention. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  loth. — To-day  we  landed  and  went  into 
camp  on  St.  Helena  Island.  The  portion  of  the  island 
where  we  are  has  been  well  cultivated.  Here  is  where 
they  raised  the  famous  long-fibre  "  sea-island  "  cotton. 
Sweet  potatoes  were  also  a  great  crop  here.  Some  of 
our  boys  sallied  out  to  look  up  our  confines,  and  found 
an  alligator  about  seven  feet  long  in  a  marsh  at  the  far 
end  of  the  island,  which  they  shot  and  hauled  into  camp. 
They  also  found  some  oranges,  but  they  were  sour. 

Saturday,  April  4th. — Received  orders  to  break  camp 
and  pack  up.  In  the  evening  we  were  all  on  board  a  sail 
ing  vessel, — the  bark  "  Milton."  So  we  are  now  to  sail 
the  briny,  and  become  sailors  before  the  mast,  or  behind 
it, — perhaps  get  into  Davy  Jones's  locker. 

Sunday,  April  $th. — Were  taken  in  tow  by  propeller 
"  Key  West,"  and  in  company  with  other  transports  left 
Port  Royal  harbor  and  turned  south.  Just  at  night  we 
ran  into  the  mouth  of  Edisto  River.  As  we  cut  loose 
from  the  propeller,  our  bark  had  a  collision  with  a 
schooner  which  carried  off  part  of  our  jib-boom. 

Monday,  April  6th. — Everything  quiet,  except  rumor, 
which  says  General  Hunter  has  made  a  demand  for  the 
surrender  of  the  city  of  Charleston. 

Tuesday,  April  '/th. — This  morning  we  had  another 
collision,  this  time  with  the  ship  "  J.  Morton."  When  the 
tide  turned,  both  vessels  swung  in  toward  each  other,  our 
bowsprit  getting  foul  of  the  "  Morton's  "  stay-chains, 
which  were  chopped  off  to  free  us.  While  this  was  being 
done,  a  lot  of  our  boys  boarded  the  "  Morton  "  through 
the  main  chains  to  get  hot  coffee,  which  was  a  lucky 
thing,  as  there  were  no  facilities  for  making  coffee  on  the 
"  Milton."  A  prize  schooner  was  brought  in  to-day. 
Some  of  our  officers  were  on  shore  to-day,  and  while 
there  heard  distant  firing  of  cannon  to  the  north. 

Wednesday,  April  8th. — It  is  now  reported  that  our 
8  113 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

iron-clad  fleet  has  been  engaged  with  the  rebel  forts  in 
Charleston  harbor  and  four  of  them  been  disabled. 

Friday,  April  loth. — Report  now  says  Beaufort  is  be 
ing  pressed  by  the  rebs  and  we  are  ordered  back  in  haste 
to  repel  them.  After  being  towed  out  to  the  open,  we 
struck  a  fine  breeze,  and,  cutting  loose  from  the  "  Key 
West,"  we  sailed  right  away  from  her. 

Saturday,  April  nth. — We  lay  outside  Port  Royal 
entrance  all  night  in  a  storm.  At  daylight  the  "  Key 
West  "  came  along  and  towed  us  into  the  harbor.  We 
were  afterwards  taken  in  tow  by  the  screw  steamer  "  Geo. 
C.  Collins,"  and  are  now  on  our  way  to  Beaufort,  S.  C. 


114 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CONCENTRATING  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

THE  foregoing  extract  from  the  diary  of  one  of  the 
Fifty-second  boys  gives  an  idea  of  the  conditions  and 
environments  of  a  soldier  at  sea  in  those  days,  and  will 
recall  some  of  the  experiences  of  that  expedition  to  those 
survivors  who  took  part  therein. 

On  reaching  North  Carolina  the  troops  from  Virginia 
became  subject  to  the  orders  of  General  J.  G.  Foster, 
commanding  the  Department  of  North  Carolina,  the 
troops  of  that  department  constituting  the  Eighteenth 
Army  Corps.  Here  new  dispositions  of  regiments  and 
brigades  were  made.  Brigadier-General  Naglee  became 
a  division  commander.  His  Second  Division  was  com 
posed  of  two  brigades, — the  First  Brigade  under  com 
mand  of  Brigadier-General  Charles  Heckman,  the  Second 
Brigade  under  our  old  commander,  Colonel  W.  W.  H. 
Davis.  The  First  Brigade  was  composed  of  the  Eighty- 
first  New  York,  Ninety-eighth  New  York,  Ninth  New 
Jersey,  and  Twenty-third  Massachusetts.  Davis's  bri 
gade  was  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  Eleventh  Maine,  One  Hun 
dredth  New  York  and  the  Independent  Battalion  New 
York  Volunteers  (En fans  Perdus).  The  Fifty-sixth 
New  York,  which  had  formed  part  of  our  brigade  on  the 
peninsula,  was  now  assigned  to  another  brigade  under 
Colonel  J.  B.  Howell,  of  the  Eighty-fifth  Pennsylvania. 
General  Naglee's  division  head-quarters  were  at  New- 
berne,  where,  for  a  short  time  during  the  absence  of 
General  Foster,  he  was  temporarily  in  command  of  the 

us 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

department.  While  here,  on  January  8,  1863,  he  issued 
his  famous  order  authorizing  the  regiments  formerly 
under  his  command  on  the  peninsula  of  Virginia  to  in 
scribe  on  their  banners  the  names  of  the  engagements  in 
which  they  had  taken  part  up  to  that  time.  A  copy  of 
that  order  is  given  here  as  follows : 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  NAGLEE'S  DIVISION, 

Newberne,  N.  C,  Jan.  8,  1863. 
GENERAL  ORDERS 
No.  3. 

The  several  regiments  of  the  late  1st  Brigade,  com 
manded  by  General  Naglee,  will  inscribe  upon  their  ban 
ners  the  following  names,  indicating  important  events  in 
the  History  of  the  War,  in  which  they  acted  a  conspicu 
ous  part,  namely: 

Lee's  Mills,  April  ,  1862. — iO4th  and  52d  Penna. 
Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th  and  looth  N.  Y.  Vols. 

Williamsburg,  May  5th,  1862. — io4th  and  52d  Penna. 
Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th  and  looth  N.  Y.  Vols. 

Chickahominy,  May  ipth,  1862. — iO4th  and  52d 
Penna.  Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

Reconnoissance  to  Seven  Pines,  May  24th,  25th  and 
26th,  1862. — iO4th  and  52d  Penna.  Vols.,  nth  Maine, 
56th,  looth  and  g8th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

"  Seven  Pines  "  or  Fair  Oaks,  May  3ist,  1862. — iO4th 
and  52d  Penna.  Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th  and  looth  N.  Y. 
S.  Vols. 

Rail  Road  and  Bottoms  Bridges,  June  27th  and  28th, 
1862. — I04th  and  52d  Penna.  Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th 
and  looth  N.  Y.  S.  Vols. 

White  Oak  Swamp  Bridge,  June  3Oth,  1862. — io4th 
and  52d  Penna.  Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th  and  looth  N.  Y. 
S.  Vols. 

Carter's  Hill,  July  2d,  1862. — iO4th  and  52d  Penna. 
Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th  and  looth  N.  Y.  S.  Vols. 

116 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Mathews  County,  Nov.  22d,  1862. — nth  Maine,  52*! 
Penna.  Vols.,  Ind.  Batt.  N.  Y.  Vols. 

Gloucester,  Virginia,  Dec.  I4th,  1862. — 52d  Penna., 
nth  Maine,  56th  and  looth  N.  Y.  S.  Vols. 

Yorktown,  August  i/th  to  Dec.  3ist,  1862. — io4th 
and  52d  Penna.  Vols.,  nth  Maine,  56th,  8ist,  gSth,  looth 
N.  Y.  and  Ind.  Batt.  N.  Y.  Vols. 

The  General  lately  commanding  the  Brigade  most  hap 
pily  takes  this  occasion  to  congratulate  the  officers  and 
soldiers  with  whom  he  has  been  so  intimately  associated. 

Whilst  memory  lasts,  it  will  continually  recur  to  the 
scenes  of  deprivation  and  danger  and  blood  and  battle 
through  which  you  have  passed,  and  you  will  remember 
your  experience  and  discontent,  and  then  your  discipline 
and  friendly  happy  affiliation. 

All  will  remember  with  regret  the  deadly  effects  of  the 
swamps  before  Yorktown. 

You  were  the  first  in  the  advance  upon  Williamsburgh, 
and  when  ordered  by  General  McClellan  to  support  Gen. 
Hancock,  the  enemy  gave  up  the  contest. 

On  the  1 9th  of  May,  at  Bottoms  Bridge,  you  waded 
waist  deep  in  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy,  you  drove 
away  the  enemy  and  were  the  first  to  cross  that  stream. 

On  the  23d,  170  of  your  number  made  a  reconnoissance 
from  Bottoms  Bridge  to  the  James  River,  near  Dairy's 
Bluff,  and  returned  bringing  valuable  information. 

On  the  24th,  25th  and  26th,  after  other  troops  had 
failed,  you  made  the  gallant  dashing  reconnoissance  of 
the  Seven  Pines,  driving  the  superior  force  of  Gen.  Stuart 
from  Bottoms  Bridge  to  within  four  and  a  half  miles  of 
Richmond,  the  position  nearest  that  city  ever  occupied  by 
our  troops. 

On  the  3ist  of  May,  at  "Fair  Oaks,"  or  "  Seven  Pines," 
occupying  the  above  advanced  position,  your  brigade  made 
the  most  desperate,  bloody,  obstinate  fight  of  the  war,  and 
while  we  mourn  the  loss  of  one-half  of  our  comrades  in 
arms,  you  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  by  their 

117 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

heroic  sacrifice  and  your  stubborn  resistance,  you  saved 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  great  disaster. 

On  the  27th,  28th  and  29th  of  June,  the  Rebel  General 
Jackson  hurled  his  immense  force  suddenly  upon  our 
right  and  passed  that  flank  of  the  army,  and  all  turned 
with  extreme  solicitude  towards  the  rear  at  Bottoms 
Bridge,  which,  if  crossed,  would  result  in  irretrievable 
ruin;  and  it  should  be  a  source  of  great  pride  and  satis 
faction  in  the  future  to  remember  that  all  this  intense 
anxiety  was  dispelled,  and  all  breathed  with  relief  and  felt 
secure,  when  it  rapidly  ran  through  the  Army  that  "  Na- 
glee's  Brigade  had  destroyed  the  bridges  and  stood  night 
and  day,  for  three  days,  in  the  middle  of  the  Chickahom- 
iny  successfully  and  continually  resisting  its  passage." 

Again,  on  the  following  day,  you  held  a  post  of  the 
greatest  importance  and  danger;  at  the  White  Oak 
Swamp  the  most  determined  efforts  of  the  enemy  to  cross 
the  bridge  in  pursuit  of  our  army  were  thwarted  by  our 
artillery,  and  you  stood  for  ten  hours  supporting  it,  quiet 
spectators  of  the  most  terrific  cannonade,  while  other 
regiments  were  only  kept  in  place  by  being  ordered  back 
when  they  approached  your  line.  Retreating  all  night, 
you  stood  ready  in  position  on  the  following  day,  expect 
ing  to  be  ordered  to  take  part  in  the  battle  at  Malvern 
Hill. 

Retreating  again  all  night,  at  Carter's  Hill  on  the  2d  of 
July,  you  stood  by  the  artillery  and  wagon  train,  and 
when  all  expected  it  would  be  destroyed,  you  brought  it 
safely  to  Harrison's  Landing. 

During  December  you  destroyed  a  dozen  large  salt 
works  in  Mathews  County,  Virginia,  and  drove  the 
Rangers  from  that  and  Gloucester,  Middlesex,  and  King 
and  Queen  Counties,  captured  large  herds  intended  for 
the  rebel  army,  and  destroyed  all  their  barracks,  stables 
and  stores. 

At  Yorktown,  from  August  to  the  end  of  December, 
you  have  restored  the  works  at  that  place  and  Gloucester 

118 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Point,  and  they  are  by  your  labor  rendered  strong  and 
defensible. 

Thus  is  yours  the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  to 
pass  and  the  last  to  leave  the  Chickahominy,  and  while 
you  led  the  advance  from  this  memorable  place  to  near 
Richmond,  you  were  the  last  in  the  retreating  column, 
when  after  seven  days'  constant  fighting  it  reached  a  place 
of  security  and  rest  at  Harrison's  Landing. 

Your  descendants  for  generations  will  boast  of  the 
gallant  conduct  of  the  regiments  to  which  you  belong,  and 
when  all  are  laid  in  the  dust,  history  will  still  proclaim 
the  glorious  deeds  performed  by  you. 

Goon!  "  The  Truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail."  Pre 
tenders,  for  a  time,  may  rob  you  of  your  just  deserts,  but 
as  you  have  experienced,  their  evil  report  will  certainly 
be  exposed ;  for  your  many  friends  at  home,  ever  watch 
ful  of  and  identified  with  your  reputation,  will  see  that 
justice  shall  be  done. 

A  new  page  in  your  history  is  about  to  be  written,  let  it 
be  still  more  brilliant  than  that  already  known.  Your 
past  good  conduct  has  won  the  warmest  esteem  and  confi 
dence  of  your  late  Brigade  Commander;  he  has  no  appre 
hensions  for  the  future. 

By  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  HENRY  M.  NAGLEE, 

Commanding  Division. 

GEO.  H.  JOHNSON, 
Captain  and  A.  A.  G. 

The  sojourn  in  North  Carolina  was  less  than  a  month 
in  duration,  and  was  only  a  concentration  of  troops  pre 
paratory  to  operations  farther  south  against  Charleston 
and  other  points  along  the  coast.  General  Ferry,  with  a 
brigade  from  Suffolk,  Va.,  and  General  Wessells,  with  his 
brigade,  now  formed  part  of  the  forces  under  Foster,  so 
that,  when  the  order  to  embark  again  was  given,  five 

119 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

brigades  were  included  in  the  command,  with  a  regiment 
of  artillery.  The  embarkation  began  on  January  iQth, 
but  it  was  not  until  January  2Qth  that  the  expedition  got 
under  way.  While  in  the  harbor  of  Beaufort,  N.  C., 
awaiting  the  signal  to  put  to  sea,  General  Naglee  issued 
an  order  for  the  formation  of  a  battalion  of  sharp 
shooters,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  H.  M.  Hoyt,  of  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  was  placed  in  command  of  it. 
Each  regiment  in  our  brigade  furnished  a  detail  of  offi 
cers  and  men  for  this  duty,  about  three  hundred  all  told. 


120 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SAILING   OF   THE   FLEET. 

ON  the  29th  of  January  the  signal  was  given  for  sail 
ing,  and  the  fleet,  following  the  lead  of  the  flag-ship 
"  Cahawba,"  on  which  General  Naglee  made  his  head 
quarters,  put  out  to  sea.  It  was  5  P.M.  when  the  fleet 
had  cleared  the  harbor  and  turned  southward.  The 
Fifty-second  was  again  on  the  "  Expounder,"  the  same 
vessel  on  which  it  came  down  from  Fort  Monroe.  The 
expedition  passed  Charleston  on  the  night  of  the  3Oth, 
and  on  the  3ist  reached  Port  Royal,  S.  C.  The  harbor 
here  was  used  as  the  naval  station  for  the  South  Atlantic 
blockading  squadron  at  this  time  and  until  the  close  of  the 
war. 

General  Foster  was  detained  in  North  Carolina  and 
was  not  with  the  expedition,  General  Naglee  being  in 
command  of  the  Eighteenth  Corps  troops.  He  reported 
to  Major-General  David  Hunter,  then  in  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  South.  Hunter  thereupon 
assumed  command  of  all  the  troops  and  issued  an  order 
incorporating  them  into  the  Tenth  Army  Corps,  directing 
all  supplies,  equipment,  etc.,  to  be  turned  over  to  his 
quartermaster-general,  and  rearranging  things  to  suit 
himself.  However,  it  did  not  suit  everybody,  General 
Naglee  especially,  and  he  put  up  a  vigorous  kick.  He 
quickly  advised  General  Foster  of  the  situation,  and  that 
officer  took  up  the  matter  with  the  War  Department  at 
Washington,  the  result  being  that  the  orders  of  Hunter 
were  revoked,  leaving  our  troops  in  the  Eighteenth  Corps. 
This  was  only  a  temporary  victory  for  General  Naglee. 

121 


The  Fifty- Second  Regiment 

The  truce  was  short  lived,  culminating  in  General  Naglee 
being  ordered  to  New  York,  from  which  place  he  was 
to  report  to  the  adjutant-general  of  the  army  at  Wash 
ington.  He  left  the  Department  of  the  South  on  March 
nth,  taking  with  him  the  esteem  and  best  wishes  of  all 
the  officers  and  men  who  had  served  under  him.  He  was 
a  most  energetic,  brave,  and  gallant  officer,  and  his  de 
parture  was  sincerely  regretted.  Brigadier-General 
Ferry,  next  in  rank,  was  put  in  command  of  the  Eigh 
teenth  Corps  troops.  Our  (Davis's)  brigade  had  been 
camping  on  St.  Helena  Island,  just  north  of  Port  Royal 
harbor,  since  the  nth  of  February.  While  here  the  pay 
master  made  a  visit  and  disbursed  four  months'  pay, — 
November,  December,  January,  and  February.  There 
was  not  a  place  on  the  island  where  the  boys  could  spend 
any  money,  so  there  was  u  nothing  doing  "  in  the  way 
of  celebrating  the  happy  event.  On  March  23d  the  One 
Hundredth  New  York  was  sent  to  Coles  Island,  where  it 
was  in  Colonel  Howells's  brigade  for  a  time.  There 
were  rumors  now  rife  of  an  early  attack  upon  Charleston, 
and  orders  were  soon  received  for  the  troops  to  prepare 
for  embarkation.  The  forces  at  Hilton  Head  and  on  the 
adjacent  islands  consisted  of  three  divisions  of  infantry, 
a  brigade  of  artillery,  a  battalion  of  engineers,  and  a  light 
battery.  The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  was  assigned  to 
the  bark  "  Milton,"  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Penn 
sylvania  and  Eleventh  Maine  to  the  steamer  "  Cahawba," 
and  the  Independent  Battalion  (Enfans  Perdus)  to  the 
propeller  "  G.  C.  Collins."  We  were  in  General  Heck- 
man's  division,  his  flag-ship  being  the  propeller  "  United 
States."  The  troops,  altogether  numbering  about  16,000, 
were  embarked  on  the  3d  and  4th  of  April,  the  destination 

122 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

being  in  the  North  Edisto,  about  twenty  miles  south  of 
Charleston.  Here  the  fleet  of  transports  cast  anchor  to 
await  the  result  of  the  iron-dads'  attack  on  Fort  Sumter 
and  other  defences  of  Charleston  harbor.  One  brigade, 
however,  under  Colonel  Ho  wells,  consisting  of  the  One 
Hundredth  New  York,  Eighty-fifth  Pennsylvania, 
Thirty-ninth  Illinois,  and  Sixty-second  Ohio,  was  landed 
on  the  south  end  of  Folly  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Stono  River.  Here  in  the  broad  entrance  to  the  Stono, 
the  iron-clad  armada  had  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
u  sailing  into  "  Charleston  harbor  and  laying  waste  all  its 
famous  and  frowning  fortifications.  When  this  little 
"  stunt  "  had  been  satisfactorily  accomplished,  we  were  to 
land  and  surround  all  that  was  left  of  the  doomed  city, 
turning  the  same  over  to  Uncle  Sam  for  such  punishment 
as  was  thought  proper  for  the  "  hot-bed  of  secession." 
Well,  on  April  6th  the  invincible  iron-clads  crossed 
Charleston  bar,  and  cast  anchor  in  the  outer  harbor.  Ad 
miral  Du  Pont  was  in  command  on  his  flag-ship  the 
"  New  Ironsides,"  at  that  time  considered  the  most 
powerful  battle-ship  in  the  world.  He  had  with  him 
seven  monitors  and  the  double-turret  monitor  "  Keokuk." 
On  the  7th  this  formidable  fleet  "  went  in  "  to  do  up  Fort 
Sumter  and  any  other  little  fort  that  might  be  standing 
around  in  our  way.  The  monitors  approached  within 
six  or  seven  hundred  yards  of  Sumter,  the  "  Ironsides  " 
within  one  thousand  yards,  and  for  about  two  long  hours 
they  made  it  quite  interesting  for  the  rebellious  people  in 
those  forts.  Then  they  withdrew,  threw  up  the  sponge, 
and  called  the  fight  off.  The  "  Keokuk  "  had  been  struck 
below  the  belt  and  sunk  soon  after  withdrawing.  Two 
other  monitors  were  practically  disabled  for  actual  busi- 

123 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

ness.  All  had  dents  in  their  iron  plating,  and  some  had 
holes  through  their  smoke-stacks,  but  no  serious  mishap 
to  them  that  would  necessitate  withdrawal.  There  being 
no  prospect  of  a  renewal  of  the  attack  by  the  fleet,  and 
therefore  no  call  for  the  landing  of  troops,  our  trans 
ports  pulled  up  anchor  and  sailed  back  again.  On  the 
nth  of  April  our  brigade  was  sent  to  Beaufort,  S.  C. 
Here  the  Eleventh  Maine  was  detached  and  sent  to  Fer- 
nandina,  Florida.  The  New  York  Independent  Battal 
ion  were  sent  back  to  St.  Helena  Island,  leaving  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Pennsylvania  almost  alone  in  their  glory. 


124 


GENERAL  QUINCY  A.  GILLMORE 
Commander  Department  of  the  South. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

OPERATIONS   AT  BEAUFORT. 

COLONEL  DAVIS  was  in  command  of  the  post  of  Beau 
fort,  at  which  post  there  were  two  colored  regiments  re 
cruited  in  the  department  from  contrabands,  one  by 
Colonel  Montgomery,  the  other  by  Colonel  Thos.  W.  Hig- 
ginson,  a  New  Englander  afterwards  widely  known  as 
an  author  and  educator.  There  were  also  two  short-term 
Pennsylvania  militia  regiments,  the  One  Hundred  and 
Seventy- fourth  and  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-sixth 
Pennsylvania,  whose  time  expired  while  there.  A  regi 
ment  of  colored  troops  raised  in  Massachusetts  (the 
Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts),  commanded  by  Colonel 
Shaw  (afterwards  killed  in  the  assault  upon  Fort  Wag 
ner,  Morris  Island),  was  added  to  Montgomery's  com 
mand,  making  up  a  colored  brigade.  These  colored 
troops  were  kept  busy  going  out  in  different  directions  on 
so-called  "  expeditions,"  which  amounted  to  little  more 
than  predatory  raids  on  the  plantations  along  the  coast. 
Otherwise  things  were  rather  quiet  for  some  time  in  the 
Department  of  the  South.  But  busier  times  were  not 
far  off.  On  the  i2th  of  June,  Brigadier-General  Quincy 
A.  Gillmore  made  his  appearance  and  assumed  command 
of  the  Department,  relieving  General  Hunter,  and  also 
relieving  the  minds  of  the  officers  and  men  serving  under 
him.  His  advent  put  new  life  into  the  troops,  for  he  im 
mediately  started  in  to  "  do  things."  Howells's  brigade 
was  still  in  possession  of  Folly  Island,  and  had  thrown 
up  some  earthworks  there.  The  force  there  was  aug 
mented  by  detachments  of  New  York  engineers,  and  by 
the  First  United  States,  Third  Rhode  Island,  and  Third 

125 


The  Fifty- Second  Regiment 

New  York  Artillery.  On  the  I5th  of  June  work  was  be 
gun  on  the  north  end  of  Folly  Island,  where  Gillmore 
planted  batteries  to  aid  in  getting  possession  of  Morris 
Island,  with  the  ultimate  object  of  reducing  Fort  Sumter. 
On  July  4th  the  troops  at  Beaufort  had  a  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  on  the  public  square.  The  square  was  shaded 
by  great  live-oak  trees,  making  an  ideal  place  for  the 
exercises,  games,  and  amusements  that  were  indulged  in. 
It  was  a  sane  celebration,  as  there  were  no  fireworks, 
A  salute  was  fired  at  one  of  the  redoubts  near  the  river. 
The  colored  troops  had  their  exercises  at  the  south  end 
of  the  square,  where  Colonel  Higginson  delivered  a 
patriotic  address.  Our  officers  and  theirs  did  not  fra 
ternize  to  any  extent,  and  the  men  did  not  mix  at  all. 
The  day's  festivities  closed  without  any  casualties. 

On  July  6th  the  paymaster  made  his  debut  among  the 
boys,  distributing  four  months'  pay.  It  would  have  been 
appreciated  more  had  it  been  made  a  few  days  earlier. 
An  order  had  been  issued  on  the  5th  for  the  Fifty-second 
and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Regiments  to  embark  for 
Folly  Island,  but  it  was  held  up  to  accommodate  the 
paymaster. 

However,  the  boys,  having  the  money  in  their  clothes, 
embarked  on  the  afternoon  of  the  6th  in  the  best  of 
spirits.  The  Fifty-second  was  on  the  transport  "  Bos 
ton,"  which  landed  the  regiment  on  Folly  Island  after 
dark.  The  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  was  on  the  "  Dela 
ware."  Both  vessels  got  away  before  daylight,  so  the 
enemy  had  no  knowledge  of  their  arrival  or  departure. 
The  idea  was  to  screen  the  movements  of  the  troops  as 
much  as  possible  from  the  enemy.  General  Gillmore  was 
now  about  ready  to  cross  Light-house  Inlet  from  the 

126 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

north  end  of  Folly  Island  and  get  a  footing  on  the  south 
eastern  end  of  Morris  Island.  In  order  to  draw  off  a 
part  of  the  enemy  from  his  point  of  attack,  he  planned 
a  feigned  attack  by  way  of  James  Island  and  Secession- 
ville.  Brigadier-General  A.  H.  Terry  was  entrusted  with 
carrying  out  this  movement  up  the  Stono  River,  and  the 
troops  assigned  him  for  the  purpose  were  Stephenson's 
brigade  from  Edisto, — consisting  of  the  Tenth  Connecti 
cut,  Ninety-seventh  Pennsylvania,  Twenty-fourth  Massa 
chusetts,  and  the  Fourth  New  Hampshire, — Davis's  bri 
gade,  consisting  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  One 
Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  Fifty-sixth  New 
York,  and  two  colored  regiments,  the  Fifty-fourth  Mas 
sachusetts  and  the  Second  South  Carolina  under  Colonel 
Montgomery.  On  the  afternoon  of  July  Qth  this  force 
embarked  on  transports  which  steamed  up  the  Stono 
River,  convoyed  by  the  monitor  "  Nantucket,"  the  gun 
boats  "  Pawnee  "  and  "  Commodore  McDonough,"  and 
a  mortar  schooner.  About  three  miles  up  the  river,  at 
Stevens  Landing,  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  and  the 
One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  disembarked  in 
the  mud,  and  marched  up  the  causeway  to  a  bridge,  where 
a  rebel  picket  post  fired  and  fled.  The  two  regiments 
here  bivouacked  for  the  night,  the  other  troops  remaining 
on  their  transports.  In  the  morning  the  Fifty-second  and 
One  Hundred  and  Fourth  made  a  reconnoissance  towards 
Secessionville,  driving  away  some  cavalry  pickets,  but 
were  recalled  by  General  Terry.  Meantime  the  other 
troops  had  landed  and  gone  into  camp.  Our  brigade 
camped  in  the  edge  of  the  woods  near  the  roadway,  the 
others  in  the  open  land  on  the  left,  the  picket  line  being 
established  nearly  a  mile  in  our  front.  During  the  morn- 

127 


The  Fifty- Second  Regiment 

ing  the  distant  booming  of  Gillmore's  guns  could  be  heard 
across  the  intervening  islands  and  swamps,  giving  us  in 
formation  that  he  was  on  schedule  time  with  his  train  of 
operations.  Our  camp  for  several  days  was  undis 
turbed,  except  by  the  incessant  and  venomous  attacks  of 
the  mosquitoes  that  swarmed  in  the  swamps  and  woods 
around  us.  On  July  I4th  our  force  was  augmented  by 
the  arrival  of  Rockwell's  Connecticut  battery.  This  addi 
tion  of  light  artillery  came  just  in  time,  as  it  was 
called  into  action  in  our  front  on  the  second  morning 
after  its  arrival.  On  that  morning — July  i6th — the 
rebels  came  down  from  Charleston  and  Secessionville 
with  the  evident  intention  of  "  doing  up  "  the  Yanks  for 
daring  to  invade  the  sacred  soil  of  James  Island.  Our 
feigned  attack  had  finally  succeeded  in  calling  off  a  con 
siderable  force  from  Gillmore's  front,  for  they  came  for 
us  with  a  brigade  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  old  corps,  sev 
eral  regiments  of  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  troops, 
two  batteries  of  12-pounders,  and  some  cavalry.  They 
fiercely  assaulted  the  line  held  by  our  pickets,  driving 
in  the  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  and  Tenth  Connecticut, 
with  considerable  loss  to  the  former.  Having  thus 
cleared  the  way,  they  came  on-  the  field  in  force.  One  of 
their  batteries,  placed  near  the  Grimball  house  in  front 
of  our  extreme  left,  opened  fire  on  the  gun-boat  "  Paw 
nee,"  lying  at  anchor  a  short  distance  below  that  place  in 
the  Stono*.  The  gun-boat  was  headed  upstream  and  not 
in  position  to  bring  her  guns  to  bear  on  the  battery.  The 
"  Pawnee  "  pulled  up  anchor,  and,  in  swinging  around  to 
bring  her  broadside  in  play,  ran  aground.  The  rebels  im 
proved  this  opportunity,  for  before  the  turn  of  the  tide 
enabled  her  to  get  off  and  drop  downstream  in  position 

128 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

to  reply,  they  had  hit  her  about  fifty  times,  without,  how 
ever,  doing  serious  damage  to  the  boat,  and  only  killing 
one  and  wounding  three  of  her  crew.  When  she  brought 
her  guns  to  bear,  the  rebs'  battery  was  soon  silenced,  being 
forced  to  retire  out  of  range,  with  its  infantry  supports. 
Failing  to  turn  our  left  by  destroying  or  driving  away  the 
"  Pawnee,"  the  enemy  made  an  attack  on  our  right. 
Bringing  out  a  battery  on  the  causeway  on  the  left  flank 
of  their  infantry  formation,  they  opened  with  shot  and 
shell  on  our  lines,  now  formed  ready  for  the  expected 
charge  of  the  enemy  and  lying  down  to  await  their  com 
ing.  They  sent  a  great  many  of  their  shells  into  the 
woods  where  our  brigade  encamped  but  which  was  now 
vacated,  and  many  more  over  the  heads  of  the  troops. 
Rockwell's  Connecticut  battery  was  soon  in  position  in 
front  of  the  woods  on  our  right  and  playing  on  the  rebel 
battery  with  good  effect.  Two  guns  were  dismounted 
and  several  of  their  gunners  and  horses  were  killed. 
Having  put  the  battery  in  bad  shape,  Captain  Rockwell 
began  playing  on  the  enemy's  infantry  lines,  with  serious 
results  to  them.  They  were  massed  for  a  charge  on  our 
lines,  and  they  suffered  much  more  severely  than  we  at 
that  time  supposed.  It  was  afterwards  learned  from 
rebel  sources  that  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  among 
the  North  Carolina  troops  alone  was  over  a  hundred. 
While  this  combat  of  artillery  was  going  on,  one  of  our 
transports, — the  "  John  Adams," — with  a  3<>pound  Par- 
rott  rifle  pivoted  on  her  bow,  came  up  the  creek,  or  bayou, 
on  our  right,  to  a  position  opposite,  and  from  which  it 
could  see  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy.  It  had  on  board 
supplies  for  our  troops,  and,  most  fortunately,  supplies  of 
ammunition  for  its  gun.  On  board  also  were  Lieutenant 

9  I2Q 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

C.  P.  Ross,  quartermaster  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  Lieutenant  McCoy,  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth  Pennsylvania.  They  took  in  the  situation  and  at 
once  concluded  to  take  a  hand  in  the  fight.  The  Parrott 
gun  was  loaded  and  fired  about  a  dozen  times,  and,  if  it 
did  nothing  more,  it  certainly  gave  the  enemy  the  impres 
sion  that  both  our  flanks  were  protected  by  gunboats,  for 
they  soon  afterwards  retired  from  the  field  without  at 
tempting  to  charge  our  lines.  This  quartermaster's  gun 
boat  fight  was  one  of  the  "  features  "  of  the  engagement, 
as  it  was  as  unexpected  by  General  Terry  as  it  was  by  the 
enemy.  Our  loss  was  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts,  which  regiment  was  fiercely 
attacked  on  the  picket  line,  losing  about  fifty  killed  and 
wounded.  One  of  the  Connecticut  battery  was  killed, 
and  a  mounted  orderly  of  Colonel  Davis  was  wounded 
and  his  horse  killed.  The  object  of  our  James  Island 
campaign  having  been  fully  accomplished  by  diverting 
the  attention  of  the  enemy  while  Gillmore  made  a  descent 
upon  Morris  Island,  General  Terry  received  orders  to 
return  to  Folly  Island.  This  was  safely  accomplished 
the  next  night.  The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  was  sent 
out  on  the  picket  line  for  the  night,  while  the  other  troops 
packed  up  their  traps  ready  to  leave  under  cover  of  dark 
ness.  The  embarkation  was  made  after  dark  and  during 
a  heavy  thunder-storm.  Colonel  Davis,  of  the  One  Hun 
dred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  in  command  of  our  bri 
gade,  describes  his  experiences  of  that  night  as  follows : 
"  The  night  was  one  of  the  darkest  I  ever  saw  and  the 
rain  fell  in  unceasing  torrents.  Everything  combined 
to  render  it  a  period  of  gloomy  uncertainty.  My  brigade 
was  required  to  furnish  a  regiment  for  picket  that  night, 

130 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

and  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  was  detailed  for  this 
unpleasant  duty.  It  fell  to  my  lot  to  be  field-officer  of 
the  day.  Nearly  all  the  baggage  had  been  hauled  down 
to  the  wharf  by  one  o'clock  A.M.  and  several  of  the 
regiments  put  en  route  across  the  marshes.  At  this  hour 
I  was  ordered  to  ride  to  the  front  and  draw  in  the  pickets. 
They  were  in  close  proximity  to  the  enemy.  I  was 
guided  by  the  vivid  flashes  of  lightning  which  accom 
panied  the  loud  thunder  and  pouring  rain  as  I  floundered 
into  ditches  and  rode  through  briars  and  thorns.  Several 
times  I  stopped,  completely  lost,  and  had  to  wait  for  a 
new  lightning  flash  to  direct  me  on  my  course.  After 
considerable  difficulty,  I  found  the  line  and  ordered  it 
withdrawn.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hoyt  and  Major  Conyng- 
ham  were  both  on  duty  with  the  regiment,  whom  I 
found  watching  with  their  men  in  the  bush,  wet  to  the 
skin.  They  will  call  to  mind  how,  when  they  came  to 
look  for  their  picket  posts,  some  of  them  could  not  be 
found,  and  the  men  did  not  know  the  regiment  had  been 
withdrawn  until  daylight  informed  them  that  they  were 
alone.  They  reached  the  landing  in  time  to  embark 
with  the  rear  guard."  (The  Ninety-seventh  Pennsyl 
vania  was  rear  guard  at  the  landing.) 

The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  were  finally  on  board, 
and  at  daylight  of  the  i/th  the  James  Island  Invading 
Expedition  was  safely  on  its  way  back  to  Folly  Island. 
Colonel  Davis,  with  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Penn 
sylvania,  Fifty-sixth  New  York,  and  several  other  regi 
ments,  left  James  Island  by  a  causeway  which  had  been 
found  to  connect,  by  crossing  several  bridges,  with  Coles 
Island,  a  march  of  about  four  miles.  The  bridges  were 
destroyed  in  their  rear  as  they  went. 

131 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

AT  THE  NORTH  END  OF  FOLLY  ISLAND. 

ON  the  next  day — July  i8th — the  brigade  marched 
up  Folly  Island  to  the  north  end  near  Light-house  Inlet. 
At  evening  the  baggage-wagons  had  come  up  from  Paw 
nee  Landing,  and  camps  were  settled  for  the  night.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  inlet — over  on  Morris  Island — 
things  were  not  so  quiet  or  restful.  A  second  assault 
on  Fort  Wagner  had  been  planned  by  General  Gillmore 
to  be  made  this  evening  of  the  i8th.  The  first  attempt  to 
carry  the  fort  by  storm  was  made  on  July  i  ith,  while  we 
were  on  James  Island.  General  Strong  led  that  assault 
with  his  brigade, — the  Seventh  Connecticut,  Seventy- 
sixth  Pennsylvania,  and  Ninth  Maine.  It  resulted  in 
failure,  and  with  a  loss  of  about  280  killed  and  wounded. 
Siege  operations  had  been  commenced  and  the  first  paral 
lel  completed  on  the  I7th,  when  it  was  decided,  before 
going  on  with  the  siege,  to  try  another  assault, — that  for 
this  evening  of  the  i8th.  This  second  assault  resulted 
also  in  failure,  and  a  much  more  disastrous  one,  the 
losses  being  118  officers  and  1357  men.  Colonel  Shaw 
with  his  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  (colored)  regiment 
led  the  column  of  attack.  He  was  killed,  and,  as  the 
rebels  reported,  "  buried  in  the  ditch  with  his  niggers." 
General  Strong,  who  led  the  first  attack,  was  also  in  the 
second,  and  mortally  wounded,  dying  on  the  3Oth  in  New 
York.  General  Truman  Seymour  was  wounded  and  one 
of  his  aides  killed.  Colonel  Chatfield,  of  the  Sixth  Con 
necticut,  was  wounded,  and  died  a  few  weeks  later  in 
Connecticut.  Colonel  Putnam,  of  the  Third  New  Hamp- 

132 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

shire,  was  killed  on  the  parapet  of  the  fort,  where  he 
was  holding  on  with  a  few  of  his  command  in  the  hope  of 
getting  re-enforcements  that  would  yet  be  victorious. 

The  second  attempt  to  get  possession  of  Fort  Wagner 
by  assault  having  failed,  the  siege  operations,  begun 
on  the  1 3th,  were  now  continued. 

The  Fifty-second  and  the  other  regiments  of  the  bri 
gade  bivouacked  that  night  at  the  north  end  of  Folly 
Island,  passing  a  very  gloomy  night.  It  rained  heavily 
during  the  night,  and  the  sad  news  of  defeat  and  death 
on  Morris  Island  threw  a  cloud  of  sadness  over  the  camp. 
The  casualties  among  the  brigade  commanders  and  gen 
eral  officers  made  necessary  the  appointment  of  others 
to  succeed  them.  General  A.  H.  Terry  succeeded  General 
Seymour  in  command  of  the  troops  on  Morris  Island,  and 
General  Israel  Vodges,  who  had  been  in  command  on  Folly 
Island,  was  ordered  over  to  Morris  Island  to  the  com 
mand  of  Strong's  brigade.  This  left  Colonel  W.  W.  H. 
Davis  the  senior  officer  on  Folly  Island,  and  on  the  iQth 
he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  forces  on  that  island. 
The  troops  were  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  One 
Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  Fifty-sixth  New 
York,  Forty-seventh  New  York,  the  Independent  Bat 
talion  New  York,  and  three  light  batteries.  Folly  Island 
stretches  south  from  Light-house  Inlet  about  seven  miles, 
and  is  one-half  in  width  at  the  widest  part.  It  was 
heavily  timbered,  and  supplied  the  engineers  on  Morris 
Island  with  timber  for  the  construction  of  batteries, 
magazines,  stockades,  and  other  purposes  during  the 
siege. 


133 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SIEGE  OF   FORT   WAGNER. 

As  previously  stated,  the  first  parallel  was  completed 
on  July  1 7th.  It  was  1350  yards  from  Wagner  and  4000 
yards  from  Sumter.  On  the  23d  a  second  parallel  was 
commenced  at  a  distance  of  600  yards  to  800  yards 
nearer.  Meantime,  on  the  25th,  the  erection  of  breaching 
batteries  began.  At  the  first  parallel  near  the  beach 
was  the  naval  battery  manned  by  gunners  from  the  fleet. 
It  mounted  two  2OO-pounder  Parrotts  and  two  84- 
pounder  Whitworth  rifled  guns.  In  addition  there  were 
five  8-inch  and  five  ten-inch  siege  mortars,  two  30- 
pounder  Parrotts,  and  a  Requa  battery  manned  by  sol 
diers.  In  the  second  parallel  were  mounted  two  200- 
pounder  and  five  loo-pounder  Parrotts,  in  three  batter 
ies.  The  "  Left  Batteries,"  four  in  number,  at  a  dis 
tance  of  4250  yards  from  Sumter,  mounted  one  300- 
pounder,  two  2OO-pounder,  five  loo-pounder,  and  four 
20-pounder  Parrotts.  All  these  batteries  were  subse 
quently  used  in  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter.  Near  the 
second  parallel  a  large  magazine  was  built,  and  adjoining 
it  a  bomb-proof  for  head-quarters,  with  a  telegraph  in 
strument  and  operators  inside.  This  was  used  by  the 
field-officers  of  the  trenches.  On  the  beach  a  battery 
mounting  two  1 2-inch  howitzers,  called  the  "  Surf  Bat 
tery7,"  was  erected.  On  July  24th  an  exchange  of  pris 
oners  took  place  in  the  harbor,  under  flags  of  truce,  and 
105  of  our  wounded  were  returned, — among  them,  how 
ever,  none  of  the  colored  soldiers. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

On  July  29th  the  rebels  opened  fire  from  a  new  battery 
erected  on  James  Island,  called  "  Bull  of  the  Woods." 
On  July  3ist  General  Vodges  returned  to  the  command 
of  Folly  Island,  relieving  Colonel  Davis.  On  August 
ist  the  forces  were  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Gordon's 
brigade  of  the  Eleventh  Corps,  and  later  by  another  bri 
gade  under  General  A.  Schimmelfennig.  On  August  3d 
Captain  Paine,  of  the  One  Hundredth  New  York,  was 
captured  while  scouting  in  the  creek  at  the  south  side  of 
Wagner.  He  was  a  bold  scout  and  had,  during  many 
previous  "  expeditions  "  with  his  boat's  crew,  obtained 
much  important  information. 

About  this  time  the  erection  of  a  battery  away  out  in 
the  swamp  between  Morris  Island  and  James  Island  was 
commenced.  It  was  located  nearly  a  mile  from  our 
Morris  Island  batteries,  and  its  erection  was  considered 
a  great  engineering  feat.  The  location  selected  was  cov 
ered  by  water  at  high  tide,  and  a  creek  near-by  which 
was  navigable  at  high  tide  made  possible  the  transpor 
tation,  to  the  site,  of  materials  for  its  construction,  which 
were  a  raft  of  logs  for  a  foundation,  sand-bags  to  be 
piled  thereon  until  it  sank  to  a  solid  position,  timbers, 
planks,  and  sand-bags  to  make  a  floor  for  the  gun,  and 
three  thick  walls  for  its  protection.  It  was  commenced 
on  August  4th  and  completed  August  iQth,  all  the  work 
being  done  at  night  and  at  hours  when  the  tides  were 
favorable.  The  gun — a  2OO-pounder  Parrott — was 
floated  to  the  spot  on  a  timber  raft  at  high  tide,  and  trans 
ferred  to  its  position  inside  the  little  sand-bag  fort  before 
the  enemy  knew  what  was  going  on  out  in  the  marshes. 
From  this  battery  (named  the  "  Swamp  Angel  ")  it  was 
exactly  five  miles  to  Charleston  City.  By  elevating  the 

i3S 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

gun  to  an  angle  of  35  degrees  it  could  throw  a  shell  that 
distance.  General  Gillmore,  now  having  the  means  of 
shelling  Charleston,  made  a  demand  upon  General 
Beauregard  to  evacuate  Morris  Island  and  Fort  Sumter 
or  he  would  bombard  that  city.  This  demand  was  not 
complied  with.  Beauregard  was  not  ready  to  be  "  hoist  " 
with  one  little  gun  located  in  a  swamp,  and  therefore  de 
clined  the  proposition  to  give  quit-claim  possession  to  "  all 
and  singular  the  hereditaments  and  premises  "  as  afore 
said  demanded.  Thereupon  Gillmore's  gunners  in  the 
Swamp  Angel  battery  sent  some  special  messengers  in 
the  shape  of  shells  through  the  air  into  Charleston,  where 
they  alighted  without  much  difficulty  or  damage,  but  much 
to  the  consternation  of  its  citizens.  The  gun  was  fired 
only  thirty-five  times  when  it  exploded.  It  was  not 
replaced. 

The  third  parallel  was  opened  on  August  9th  by  means 
of  the  "  flying  sap,"  450  yards  from  Wagner.  A  large 
roller  made  of  bundles  of  withes  confined  by  iron  bands 
was  rolled  along  in  front  of  the  "  sappers  "  or  trench 
diggers,  protecting  them  from  the  sharp-shooters  of  the 
enemy;  the  sand  thrown  out  on  the  exposed  side  gave 
protection  also,  except  as  to  shells  thrown  high  in  the 
air  by"  mortars  or  by  guns  at  a  considerable  distance. 

Duty  in  the  trenches  during  the  siege  operations  was 
very  fatiguing  and  dangerous.  A  "  tour  of  duty  "  was 
for  twenty- four  hours,  going  in  under  cover  of  the  dark 
ness  one  night  and  remaining  until  the  next  night.  Our 
brigade,  although  encamped  on  Folly  Island,  furnished 
its  quotas  for  duty  in  the  trenches — both  as  guards  and 
as  workers — as  regularly  as  the  other  brigades.  On 
August  3d  the  detail  was  for  450  men,  and  again  on 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

August  5th  for  the  same  number.  It  was  a  24-hour  turn 
about  every  other  day  during  the  siege.  On  the  evening 
of  August  22d  the  whole  brigade  was  ordered  to  Morris 
Island  with  two  days'  cooked  rations,  for  a  tour  of  two 
days'  duty  in  the  trenches.  That  day — or,  rather,  night 
— a  fourth  parallel  was  opened  at  a  distance  of  300  yards 
from  Wagner.  A  short  distance  in  front  of  this,  a 
sand  ridge  sheltered  the  sharp-shooters,  who  were  a  con 
stant  annoyance  to  our  men  working  in  the  trenches. 
On  the  night  of  August  26th,  the  Twenty-fourth  Massa 
chusetts,  under  Colonel  Osborn,  made  a  rush  for  this 
ridge  with  the  bayonet,  and  captured  it,  together  with 
about  seventy  of  their  men,  who  failed  to  get  away.  The 
prisoners  were  furnished  shovels  and  made  to  dig  for 
their  lives, — in  other  words,  to  throw  up  sand  for  their 
own  protection  as  well  as  that  of  their  captors.  Along 
this  ridge  the  same  night  the  fifth  parallel  was  opened, 
within  200  yards  of  the  fort.  Our  brigade  was  held 
over  for  another  day,  making  our  two-day  tour  of  duty 
last  three  full  days  and  more. 

On  the  2Qth  of  August  our  brigade  was  ordered  to 
Morris  Island,  taking  the  place  of  General  Ames's  bri 
gade,  which  replaced  ours  on  Folly.  We  did  not  get 
across  the  inlet  until  the  next  morning,  when  we  marched 
up  to  the  "  look-out  "  and  went  into  camp  on  the  beach. 

While  the  pushing  forward  of  our  zigzags  and  parallels 
was  going  on,  the  great  batteries  of  guns  that  Gillmore 
had  placed  in  position  in  different  parts  of  the  works  had 
been  battering  down  the  walls  of  Fort  Sumter.  Every 
thing  being  ready  on  August  i6th,  these  great  batteries 
were  directed  to  concentrate  their  fire  early  the  next 
morning  on  Sumter.  At  four  o'clock  A.M.  the  ball 

137 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

opened,  and  the  rebel  garrison  at  Wagner  found  them 
selves  entirely  ignored  by  the  shot  and  shells  from  our 
guns,  which  went  screaming  over  their  heads  to  crash 
against  the  walls  of  Sumter,  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond 
them.  The  iron-clads  also  took  a  hand  in  the  bombard 
ment,  two  of  the  monitors  giving  their  attention  to  Sum 
ter  while  the  others  poured  shells  into  Wagner  to  prevent 
her  gunners  from  annoying  our  breaching  batteries.  The 
bombardment  opened  at  daylight  and  continued  until 
sunset  every  day  for  a  wreek,  when,  on  the  23d,  Sumter 
was  declared  a  hopeless  wreck.  It  certainly  looked  it. 
All  the  barbette  guns  were  dismounted  and  buried  in  the 
debris.  The  gorge  wall  and  sea  face  were  so  shattered 
and  tumbled  down  that  many  of  the  arches  of  the  case 
mates  were  plainly  exposed  to  view.  The  once  frowning 
fortress  now  presented  the  outward  appearance  of  a 
shapeless  mass  of  brick  and  mortar.  Our  three  days' 
tour  of  duty  beginning  on  the  22d  permitted  us  to  be 
eye-witnesses  of  the  closing  scene  of  this  historic  feat 
of  military  engineering  skill. 

And  yet  the  siege  of  Wagner  went  bravely  on.  When 
the  bombardment  of  Sumter  opened,  the  garrison  of 
Wagner  made  a  sortie,  driving  our  pickets  back  from 
the  advanced  position  then  held.  They  were  soon  driven 
back  themselves,  and  the  sappers  again  went  to  work  as 
usual. 

From  the  fifth  parallel  a  flying  sap  was  started  towards 
the  fort.  It  advanced  75  yards  the  first  night,  notwith 
standing  a  hot  fire  from  the  fort  by  muskets,  grape,  and 
canister,  and  shells  from  Coehorn  mortars.  The  sap 
pers  picked  out  of  the  sand,  on  this  approach,  ten  tor 
pedoes,  which  had  been  planted  there  by  the  enemy.  Some 

138 


l&  \ 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

of  them  were  accidentally  exploded,  but,  fortunately,  no 
serious  casualty  resulted.  This  last  approach  was  simply 
run  zigzag  like  this:  AAAM,  the  sand-bags  and  gabions 
protecting  the  sappers.  On  September  5th  the  sap  was  so 
close  to  Wagner  that  the  sand  shovelled  out  rolled  into 
the  moat  or  ditch  surrounding  the  fort. 


i39 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  ASSAULT  ON  FORT  WAGNER. 

GENERAL  GILLMORE  then  decided  to  assault  the  fort 
next  morning,  September  7th.  The  plan  for  the  assault 
was  as  follows:  Two  regiments — the  Ninety-seventh 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Third  New  Hampshire — were  to 
take  position  in  the  zigzags  nearest  the  front  of  the  fort; 
two  brigades — Stephenson's  and  Davis's — were  to  be 
next  in  order  in  the  trenches  and  parallels.  At  the  signal 
all  were  to  get  out  of  the  trenches  and  go  to  their  work 
on  the  double-quick;  the  two  leading  regiments  over  the 
front  of  the  fort;  Stephenson's  brigade  to  pass  the  fort 
on  the  beach,  file  left,  and  mount  the  rear  walls  of  the 
fort;  Davis's  brigade  also  to  pass  the  fort  and  intervene 
between  it  and  Fort  Gregg,  to  prevent  re-enforcements 
from  that  end  of  the  island,  and  to  throw  up  intrench- 
ments  there.  The  troops  were  marshalling  for  this  third 
assault,  when  a  deserter,  or  left-behind  reb,  came  in  and 
reported  that  Morris  Island  had  been  evacuated  by  the 
enemy  before  midnight.  A  sergeant  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Illinois  volunteered  to  go  to  the  fort  and  ascertain  if  this 
reported  evacuation  was  true.  He  did  so,  and  on  his 
return  announced  the  fort  deserted. 

A  small  detachment  was  sent  into  the  works  to  take 
possession,  and  the  troops  marched  up  the  beach  to  Cum- 
mings  Point  in  hopes  of  capturing  some  of  the  retreating 
foe,  but  they  had  made  good  their  escape.  Another  de 
tachment  was  placed  in  Battery  Gregg,  and  before  day 
light  our  troops  returned  down  the  beach  with  lighter 
hearts  than  when  they  marched  up,  and  with  good  appe- 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

tites  for  breakfast.  Only  a  half-dozen  of  the  enemy, 
who  had  been  left  behind  by  accident  or  had  remained 
willingly,  were  found  on  the  island  and  made  prisoners. 
Two  boat-loads  of  the  enemy  were,  however,  captured 
in  the  harbor,  having  run  aground  off  Cummings  Point; 
the  occupants,  a  surgeon  and  fifty-five  men,  were  cap 
tured.  Another  boat,  which  proved  to  be  a  launch  of  the 
rebel  ram  "  Chicora,"  was  captured  near  Fort  Sumter, 
with  one  officer  and  seven  sailors.  Arrangements  for 
cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the  garrisons  of  the  enemy  on 
the  island  had  been  made  with  the  "  boat  infantry,"  but, 
with  the  exception  of  the  three  boats  noted  above,  no 
captures  were  made.  The  boat  infantry  was  at  that  time 
under  Major  San  ford,  of  the  Seventh  Connecticut,  who 
had  an  extra  detail  of  two  hundred  men  from  our  bri 
gade  to  assist  him  for  this  work.  Had  Major  Hennessy, 
of  the  Fifty-second,  then  been  in  command  of  the  boat 
infantry,  as  he  afterwards  was,  the  result  would  un 
doubtedly  have  been  different. 

Morris  Island  was  now  entirely  in  our  possession.  It 
had  cost  a  great  many  lives  and  an  enormous  expenditure 
of  labor  and  material  to  accomplish  its  occupation.  "  The 
fatigue  and  other  duties  performed  by  the  army  during 
the  active  operations  against  Charleston  were  enormous, 
and  no  other  troops  worked  harder  at  any  time  during 
the  war.  My  own  brigade,"  says  Colonel  Davis,  "  may 
be  instanced  as  a  fair  average.  The  greater  part  of  the 
time  it  had  less  than  fourteen  hundred  men  for  duty, 
and  yet  it  performed  27,128  clays  of  fatigue  duty  and 
46,824  days*  duty  on  guard  in  the  trenches.  This  does 
not  include  permanent  details  for  boat  infantry  and 
many  other  details  made  from  all  the  regiments."  The 

141 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  did  its  full  share  of  all  these 
duties.  The  amount  of  work  done  (actual  manual  labor) 
may  be  better  understood  when  we  say  that  the  trenches, 
parallels,  splinter-proofs,  batteries,  and  earthworks  con 
structed  during  the  siege  measured  nearly  eight  miles  in 
length.  This  work  was  done  by  Northern  men  and  boys 
in  midsummer  in  South  Carolina,  on  an  island  devoid  of 
shade  and  water,  with  the  thermometer  at  100°  or  over 
the  greater  part  of  the  time. 


142 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPT  ON  FORT  SUMTER. 

THE  second  night  after  we  were  in  possession  of  the 
island,  Admiral  Dahlgren  made  an  attempt  to  capture 
Fort  Sumter  with  a  naval  force  in  boats  from  the  fleet. 
His  boats  were  gotten  together  during  the  afternoon  in 
plain  view  of  the  enemy,  who  were  thus  informed  that 
there  was  "  something  doing,"  and  met  his  boats,  when 
they  approached  the  fort  at  10  o'clock  that  night,  with 
a  galling  fire  of  musketry.  The  Sullivan's  Island  bat 
teries,  also  advised,  poured  shot  and  shell  amongst  them. 
Some  of  them  landed  and  tried  to  scale  the  tumbled-down 
walls,  but  were  all  either  killed,  or  wounded  and  cap 
tured.  Of  the  400  officers  and  men  sent  on  this  hazard 
ous  attempt  only  250  returned. 

On  the  7th,  while  the  admiral  was  planning  this  daring 
attack  on  Sumter,  one  of  his  monitors,  the  "Weehawken," 
which  went  up  "  snooping  "  around  near  Fort  Sumter, 
smelling  of  the  obstructions  in  the  channel  leading  to  the 
inner  harbor,  and  otherwise  taking  liberties  with  the 
environment,  got  herself  into  trouble  by  running  aground 
opposite  Fort  Moultrie,  on  Sullivan's  Island,  and  within 
easy  range  of  the  guns  of  that  fortification  and  of  Bat 
tery  Bee  on  the  same  island.  She  was  unable  to  get  off 
during  the  night,  and,  when  the  enemy  discovered  her 
there  at  daylight,  their  batteries  opened  a  tremendous  fire 
upon  her.  The  "  Ironsides  "  and  the  other  monitors  at 
once  pulled  up  anchor  and  went  to  her  defence.  The 
whole  iron-clad  fleet  took  position  in  front  of  Sullivan's 
Island  and  poured  an  incessant  fire  into  Moultrie  and  the 

143 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

other  forts  thereon.  The  "  Ironsides "  would  fire  a 
broadside,  then  swing  around  and  give  another  from  the 
other  side,  while  the  monitors  played  their  big  guns  for 
all  they  were  worth.  It  was  a  magnificent  sight,  and 
nearly  all  the  troops  on  Morris  Island  congregated  on  the 
sand  hills  to  witness  the  combat.  During  the  hottest  part 
of  the  engagement  one  of  the  enemy's  magazines  was 
blown  up,  sending  earth,  timbers,  and  a  cloud  of  black 
smoke  high  in  the  air.  A  number  of  frame  buildings, 
one  of  which  had  formerly  been  a  summer  hotel,  were 
burned  by  shots  from  our  fleet,  and  added  a  conflagration 
to  the  lively  panorama  of  actual  warfare  spread  out 
before  us  watchers  on  the  hills.  The  "  Weehawken," 
although  aground,  was  not  idle,  as  her  turret  could  turn  if 
she  could  not,  and  she  kept  up  the  fight  with  the  others, 
until  in  the  afternoon,  having  been  much  lightened  by  the 
ammunition  expended  and  metal  thrown  from  her  gun, 
she  floated  free.  The  guns  of  Moultrie  had  nearly  all 
been  silenced  when  the  fleet  withdrew  and  returned  to  its 
anchorage.  This  action  demonstrated  the  fact  that  at 
that  time  this  was  the  strongest,  most  invulnerable  fleet 
of  war  vessels  in  the  world. 

After  the  occupation  of  the  upper  end  of  Morris 
Island  new  works  were  erected  on  Cummings  Point, 
mounting  Parrott  guns  and  mortars.  Battery  Gregg  was 
faced  the  other  way,  and  a  3OO-pounder  Parrott  was 
mounted  within,  pointing  towards  Sumter.  The  distance 
from  Cummings  Point  to  Charleston  was  only  a  little 
over  three  miles, — nearly  two  miles  nearer  than  the 
"  Swamp  Angel  "  battery, — and  the  distance  to  Fort 
Moultrie,  and  also  to  Fort  Johnson,  was  only  one  mile 
and  a  half.  Sumter  was  about  one  mile  away.  A  battery 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

was  erected  between  Wagner  and  Gregg,  named  Chat- 
field,  in  honor  of  Colonel  Chatfield,  of  the  Sixth  Connec 
ticut,  killed  in  the  second  assault  of  Wagner.  The  name 
of  one  of  the  "  Left  Batteries  "  was  changed  to  Battery 
Strong,  in  honor  of  General  George  C.  Strong,  also  killed 
at  Wagner,  and  a  new  battery  erected  on  the  east  end  of 
the  island  was  named  Fort  Shaw,  in  honor  of  Colonel 
Robert  G.  Shaw,  of  the  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts, 
killed  at  the  same  place. 


10  145 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SECOND    BOMBARDMENT    OF    SUMTER. 

ON  October  26th,  our  new  batteries  being  ready  for 
business,  they  were  given  a  trial  by  a  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter,  which  was  still  floating  the  stars  and  bars 
defiantly  before  our  eyes  and  maintaining  a  garrison  of 
rebellious  people  within,  much  against  our  wishes.  From 
Battery  Chatfield  in  one  day  the  3OO-pounder  Parrott 
threw  projectiles  aggregating  15,000  pounds  in  weight 
into  Fort  Sumter.  The  other  guns  and  batteries  added 
their  quota,  and  kept  it  going  for  a  week.  By  that  time 
it  was  considered  advisable  to  investigate  conditions  at 
Sumter,  with  a  view  to  moving  in  and  occupying  it  as 
a  winter  residence.  Colonel  Davis  says :  "  A  few  nights 
afterward  General  Terry,  commanding  the  forces  on  the 
island,  ordered  a  reconnoissance  in  force  to  be  made  to 
the  fort.  It  was  commanded  by  Major  Conyngham,  of 
the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  regiment.  The  force 
consisted  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  with  rifles,  and 
a  Requa  battery  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Bitting.  The 
instructions  were  to  make  such  demonstration  against 
Sumter  as  to  induce  the  garrison  '  to  use  musketry  fire 
on  the  boats/  and  thus  ascertain  its  strength.  An  assault 
was  not  to  be  made  upon  the  fort  unless  it  was  evident 
that  it  could  be  easily  taken.  The  boats  lay  in  one  of  the 
creeks  until  the  moon  went  down,  when  they  pulled  out 
into  the  harbor.  Under  cover  of  the  darkness  they 
were  able  to  approach  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the 
fort  before  they  were  discovered,  when  they  were  fired 
upon.  The  garrison  appeared  to  have  been  on  the  watch. 

146 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

This  was  followed  by  a  shot  from  a  steamer,  probably 
a  ram,  that  lay  behind  the  angle  of  the  fort  toward 
Charleston,  and  soon  the  batteries  on  James  and  Sulli 
van's  Islands  opened  a  cross-fire  on  the  boats,  the  shot 
and  shell  ricochetting  very  lively  across  the  water.  The 
object  of  the  reconnoissance  being  accomplished,  in  de 
veloping  the  probable  strength  of  the  garrison,  the  boats 
withdrew,  with  the  loss  of  only  three  men  wounded.  The 
affair  was  well  managed  by  the  officer  in  command." 

The  bombardment  was  continued  in  a  desultory  sort 
of  way  until  the  Qth  of  November,  when  it  was  deemed 
proper  to  pay  some  of  our  attention  to  our  neighbors  in 
Charleston.  On  November  I7th  nineteen  shells  were 
thrown  into  the  city  from  Cummings  Point  batteries,  and 
the  next  day  a  loo-pounder  Parrott  on  Battery  Chatfield 
threw  fourteen  shells  into  Charleston.  From  this  time 
on,  during  the  winter  and  spring,  this  daily  presentation 
of  these  souvenirs  of  our  regard  for  "  our  friends  "  the 
enemy,  in  that  lovely  old  Southern  city,  was  almost  con 
tinuously — if  not  religiously — observed.  The  use  of 
ico-pound  shells  was  found  to  be  rather  extravagant,  and 
that  a  3O-pounder  Parrott  would  convey  an  expression  of 
our  regard  just  as  well  with  a  much  smaller  expenditure 
of  powder;  so  a  couple  of  these  guns  were  adopted  as  the 
standard  messenger  senders.  It  was  necessary  to  give 
them  an  elevation  of  from  forty  to  forty- five  degrees  to 
reach  the  city.  One  of  these  3O-pounders  was  thus  fired 
4615  times,  exploding,  with  its  last  shot,  on  March  19, 
1864. 


147 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

RE-ENLISTMENT — VARIOUS  EXPEDITIONS. 

ABOUT  the  first  of  January,  1864,  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  re-enlisted  for  an 
other  term  of  "  three  years  or  during  the  war."  This 
was  done  in  accordance  with  an  Act  of  Congress  (a  joint 
resolution  approved  December  23,  1863)  which  permitted 
all  volunteer  soldiers  who  had  served  two  years  or  more 
to  receive  the  benefits  of  the  act  by  re-enlisting.  The 
benefits  were  the  cancellation  of  the  balance  of  their  first 
three  years'  enlistment,  a  bounty  of  $400,  and  a  thirty 
days'  furlough  home  with  transportation.  Those  who 
complied  with  the  provisions  of  this  act  were  termed 
"  veteran  volunteers  "  and  were  so  carried  on  the  muster- 
rolls  and  the  pay-rolls  of  the  War  Department.  Offi 
cially  there  are  no  "  veterans  "  recognized  among  the 
volunteers  of  1861  to  1865  except  those  who  thus  re- 
enlisted.  The  exact  number  that  re-enlisted  in  the  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania  is  not  stated  here,  for  the  reason 
that  in  some  cases  the  company  clerk  or  sergeant  who 
made  out  the  muster-out  rolls  failed  to  note  the  fact  that 
the  soldier  was  a  "  vet."  There  were  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  in  all  who  thus  extended  their  terms  of 
service.  This  detachment  of  "  veterans,"  in  charge  of 
Colonel  Henry  M.  Hoyt  and  Adjutant  Henry  A.  Mott, 
were  taken  by  transport  to  Hilton  Head,  from  there  to 
New  York  by  the  steamship  "  Arago,"  and  thence  by 
D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  to  Scranton,  Pa.  At  this  point  they 
dispersed  in  various  directions  to  enjoy  a  visit  or  "  vaca 
tion  "  at  home.  When  the  time  was  up — the  latter  part 
of  February — they  again  concentrated  at  Scranton  and 

148 


HENRY  A.  MOTT 

First  Lieutenant  Company  K,  afterwards  Adjutant  Fifty-second  Regiment 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

returned  the  same  route  they  came,  rejoining  the  regi 
ment  on  Morris  Island,  S.  C. 

During  the  winter  of  1863-64  expeditions  were  sent 
out  in  various  directions, — one  to  Johns  Island,  one  to 
Kiowa  Island,  and  one  to  Bull's  Bay.  The  troops  on 
Morris  Island  were  by  no  means  idle.  Colonel  Davis 
says :  "  No  portion  of  the  army  during  that  winter  per 
formed  more  labor  than  the  troops  stationed  on  Morris 
Island.  The  force  was  inadequate  to  the  duty  to  be  done, 
and  it  was  of  that  kind  from  which  no  glory  could  be 
gained.  After  the  re-enlisted  veterans  had  gone  home 
and  the  other  regiments  left  that  had  been  ordered  away, 
the  garrison  was  reduced  to  less  than  fifteen  hundred  men 
for  duty,  one-half  of  which  were  conscripts  and  substi 
tutes  lately  arrived.  Five  hundred  men  were  sent  to  the 
front  every  night,  which  with  the  usual  camp  guard  and 
other  necessary  details  placed  about  one-half  the  entire 
garrison  on  duty  at  a  time.  Often  the  same  men  went 
to  the  front  two  nights  in  succession.  Then  the  fatigue 
duty  was  still  very  heavy,  and  the  men  seemed  to  be  con 
stantly  changing  from  the  rifle  to  the  shovel  all  winter. 
Several  hundred  were  still  daily  employed  on  the  fortifi 
cations."  In  March,  1864,  the  garrison  was  still  further 
reduced  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  Ninth  Maine  and  the 
One  Hundredth  New  York,  leaving  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  and  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania 
with  some  artillery  as  the  entire  garrison.  On  March 
loth  the  re-enlisted  veterans  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fourth,  one  hundred  and  ten  in  number,  left  on  their 
thirty-day  furlough  home.  The  Fifty-fourth  Massachu 
setts  soon  after  arrived  on  the  island,  which  increased  the 
force  temporarily. 

149 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

On  April  20th  Colonel  Davis  was  ordered  to  Hilton 
Head,  and  two  days  afterwards  the  Fifty-second  and 
One  Hundred  and  Fourth  followed  him  there,  where  he 
had  been  placed  in  command  of  the  Middle  District, 
embracing  the  islands  of  Hilton  Head,  St.  Helena,  and 
Tybee,  with  Fort  Pulaski.  General  Terry,  with  the 
Tenth  Corps  (so  called),  and  the  bulk  of  Gillmore's 
troops  were  sent  north  to  be  added  to  General  Ben.  But 
ler's  Army  of  the  James,  in  Virginia.  The  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  remained  on  duty  at  Hilton  Head  until 
the  1 3th  of  June,  when  it  was  ordered  back  to  Folly 
Island.  At  this  time  it  parted  company  with  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania  for  good.  These  two 
regiments  had  been  in  the  same  brigade  or  command  since 
November,  1861,  a  period  of  two  and  a  half  years,  and 
the  parting  severed  a  great  many  warm  personal  friend 
ships.  On  the  26th  of  April  the  Fifty-second  found 
itself  again  on  Morris  Island,  a  familiar  "  tramping  " 
ground,  and  the  old  tours  of  duty  were  resumed. 


150 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ANOTHER  ATTEMPT  ON  CHARLESTON. 

IN  June,  1864,  General  J.  G.  Foster,  now  in  command 
of  the  Department,  received  orders  from  Washington  to 
make  an  attack  on  Charleston  as  soon  as  his  forces  could 
be  gotten  ready.  The  attack  was  planned  to  be  made 
from  four  different  directions, — one,  being  from  Morris 
Island  by  boats,  to  attack  Fort  Johnson;  the  second,  be 
ing  a  column  under  General  Schimmelfennig,  by  way  of 
the  Stono,  attacking  the  works  near  Secessionville,  James 
Island;  the  third,  being  a  column  of  two  brigades  under 
General  Hatch,  to  land  on  Seabrook  Island,  march  across 
that  and  Johns  Island,  and  approach  Charleston  from  the 
south;  the  other,  being  a  column  composed  of  colored 
troops  under  General  William  Birney,  to  destroy  the  rail 
road  bridges  between  Charleston  and  Savannah.  Neither 
of  the  four  columns  accomplished  what  they  started  out 
to  do.  General  William  Birney  failed  to  reach  the  rail 
road  and  destroy  any  of  the  bridges,  and  was  relieved  of 
command  in  consequence.  General  Hatch  did  not  get 
any  farther  towards  Charleston  than  Johns  Island,  and 
at  no  time  had  he  more  than  partial  possession  of  that 
island,  although  he  had  a  force  of  three  thousand  infan 
try,  two  four-gun  batteries,  and  a  squadron  of  cavalry. 
General  Schimmelfennig,  with  his  column  on  James 
Island,  did  not  get  much,  if  any,  farther  than  General 
Terry  did  in  his  feigned  attack  the  year  before.  The 
attack  upon  Fort  Johnson  by  boat  was  made  on  the 
morning  of  July  3,  1864,  by  a  portion  of  the  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  regiment  under  Colonel  H.  M.  Hoyt,  who 

151 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

led  the  attack  in  place  of  Colonel  Gurney,  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  New  York,  then  in  com 
mand  of  the  forces  on  Morris  Island.  The  latter  officer 
preferred  to  look  on  from  a  safe  position  at  Paine's 
dock  on  the  Morris  Island  shore.  Colonel  Hoyt,  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  John  B.  Conyngham,  and  four  other  offi 
cers  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  with  one  hundred 
and  thirty- five  men  of  the  same  regiment,  being  five  boat 
loads,  and  all  that  landed  and  took  part  in  the  gallant 
fight  there  made,  were  forced  to  give  up  the  struggle  for 
want  of  support,  and  became  prisoners  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy. 

The  force  from  Morris  Island  was  composed  of  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  the  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-seventh  New  York,  and  a  detachment  of  the 
Third  Rhode  Island  Artillery.  It  was  arranged  for  this 
force  to  embark  in  small  boats  in  the  creek  running 
through  the  marshes  between  Morris  and  James  Islands. 
They  were  then  to  rendezvous  at  Paine's  dock  near  the 
outlet  of  the  creek  into  the  inner  harbor,  and  as  soon  as 
the  tide  permitted,  during  the  night  (July  2,  1864)  to 
pull  out  and  cross  the  harbor,  landing  on  the  beach  be 
tween  Fort  Johnson  and  Battery  Simpkins,  James  Island. 
The  Fifty-second  in  the  advance  was  to  pull  directly  for 
the  beach  six  hundred  yards  in  front  of  Fort  Johnson, 
land,  and  assault  the  fort  The  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-seventh  New  York  was  to  land  at  Battery  Simp- 
kins,  a  half-mile  nearer,  and  carry  it.  The  Third  Rhode 
Island  Artillery  was  to  take  possession  of,  and  turn  upon 
the  city,  any  guns  found  in  the  works.  This  bold  under 
taking  could  only  be  successful  by  being  a  surprise  to  the 
enemy.  The  harbor  was  at  that  time  picketed  by  two 

152 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

rebel  rams  and  a  line  of  picket  boats,  extending  from 
Sumter  to  James  Island  on  one  side  and  Sullivan's  Island 
on  the  other.  The  most  formidable  obstacle  for  the 
forces  to  overcome  was  a  bar,  extending  from  the  beach 
in  front  of  Simpkins  to  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of 
Sumter.  This  bar  was  completely  out  of  the  water  at 
low  tide,  and  was  only  covered  when  the  tide  was  three- 
quarters  full.  The  time  selected  seemed  unfortunate; 
for  on  the  night  for  the  movement,  July  3d,  it  was  dead 
low  tide  at  one  o'clock  A.M.,  and  there  would  not  be  suffi 
cient  water  to  pass  the  bar  before  4  A.M.,  daylight,  at 
that  season. 

The  regiment  made  very  full  preparations  for  this 
perilous  enterprise.  If  the  fort  should  be  taken,  it  could 
only  be  held  by  strong  re-enforcements.  Its  garrison 
was  believed  to  consist  of  four  hundred  men.  Could  a 
landing  once  be  effected,  the  rest  seemed  a  work  merely 
of  dash  and  boldness.  The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania 
went  out  with  the  intention  of  taking  the  works  and  re 
maining  there ;  to  that  end  it  was  furnished  with  several 
days'  rations,  entrenching  tools,  and  other  needed  supplies. 
All  day  of  the  2d  of  July  preparations  for  the  coming 
night  work  went  solemnly  but  steadily  on.  The  bar  was 
carefully  examined,  if  possibly  it  had  a  channel  through  it. 
Boats  were  put  in  order  and  boat  crews  organized.  Sig 
nals  were  agreed  upon  and  minute  instructions  issued. 

All  this  was  indeed  indispensable,  for  no  word  of  com 
mand  above  a  whisper  could  be  uttered  without  betraying 
the  movement.  The  expedition  once  fairly  afloat  must 
thenceforth  proceed  according  to  the  prearranged  scheme 
or  fail.  The  night  came  at  last,  and  the  regiment  fell  in 
in  front  of  its  camp  by  boat  crews.  They  silently  wound 


The  Fifty- Second  Regiment 

around  the  sand  hills,  down  to  the  marsh  where  the  fleet 
of  boats  was  moored.  One  by  one  they  were  filled  and 
shoved  out  to  Paine's  dock,  the  place  of  rendezvous. 
Before  they  reached  the  dock  many  of  them  grounded,  for 
the  tide  was  now  at  its  lowest,  and  most  crews  only  made 
progress  by  debarking  in  the  muddy  shoals  of  the  inlet. 
At  2  o'clock  A.M.,  the  fleet  was  together  and  the  tide 
turned.  As  it  covered  the  shoals,  the  Fifty-second  in 
advance,  they  moved  out  in  single  file  and  headed  into 
the  darkness  for  Fort  Johnson.  Either  through  ignor 
ance  or  misconduct,  the  pilot,  selected  by  Colonel  Gur- 
ney  from  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  New 
York,  failed  to  find  any  passage  over  or  around  the  bar. 
Daylight  began  to  streak  the  east  when  the  leading  boat 
passed  the  bar,  close  under  the  slopes  of  Battery  Simp- 
kins.  Towering  in  the  distance  at  1000  yards  frowned 
Fort  Johnson.  Steadily  the  boats  pulled  on.  The  look 
out  at  Simpkins  had,  however,  discovered  the  procession 
of  boats  filled  with  bluecoats.  Discharging  his  musket 
he,  with  the  rest  of  the  pickets  on  duty,  fled  up  the  beach. 
It  was  an  even  race  now  between  the  boats  and  the  rebel 
sentinels.  Soon  the  guns  in  Fort  Johnson  opened,  send 
ing  their  shells  hissing  over  the  heads  of  the  men  now 
pulling  for  dear  life.  Discovery  was  no  longer  to  be 
avoided.  With  a  hearty  cheer  the  six  officers  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  men  of  the  Fifty-second  landed 
from  the  five  leading  boats  at  the  designated  points. 
Promptly  forming,  they  charged  a  two-gun  battery, 
mounting  Brooke's  rifled  guns,  and  carried  it  handsomely. 
Fort  Johnson  was  still  four  hundred  yards  in  advance. 
The  fire  from  the  batteries  and  muskets  of  the  fort  had 
now  grown  hot,  but  there  was  no  halt  The  parapet  was 

154 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

reached  and  scaled,  shots  were  exchanged,  breast  to  breast 
over  the  crest,  and  the  men  of  the  Fifty-second  jumped 
down  into  the  works.  The  garrison  were  now  fully 
aroused  and  at  their  posts.  The  long  distance  traversed 
had  destroyed  somewhat  the  impetus  of  the  assault,  and 
the  assailants  had  become  separated  in  the  steep  ascent 
to  the  fort.  The  assaulting  party,  now  outnumbered, 
found  itself  without  support,  and  a  glance  back  revealed 
the  appalling  fact  that  through  some  mischance,  a  large 
number  of  our  boats  and  not  one  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-seventh  New  York  had  landed.  The  strug 
gle  was  hopeless  and  retreat  impossible.  The  entire 
party  was,  therefore,  made  prisoners  of  war,  although  the 
fort  was  fairly  in  their  grasp.  It  had  proved  a  complete 
surprise,  and  its  very  boldness  bewildered  the  enemy. 

The  casualties  in  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  were 
seven  killed  and  sixteen  wounded.  Of  the  former  was 
Lieutenant  S.  A.  Bunyon,  of  Company  E,  acting  adju 
tant,  and  Sergeant  George  Scott,  of  Company  D. 

"  The  boats,"  says  General  Foster,  in  orders,  "  com 
manded  by  Colonel  Hoyt,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Conyng- 
ham,  Captain  Camp,  and  Lieutenants  Stevens  and  Evans, 
all  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  rowed  rapidly  to 
the  shore,  and  these  officers,  with  Adjutant  Bunyon 
(afterwards  killed)  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  men, 
landed  and  drove  the  enemy ;  but,  deserted  by  their  sup 
ports,  were  obliged  to  surrender  to  superior  numbers. 
Colonel  Hoyt  bestows  unqualified  praise  on  the  officers 
and  men  who  landed  with  them;  of  these,  seven  were 
killed  and  sixteen  wounded.  They  deserve  great  credit 
for  their  energy  in  urging  their  boats  forward  and  bring 
ing  them  through  the  narrow  channel;  and  the  feeling 

155 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

which  led  them  to  land  at  the  head  of  their  men  was 
the  prompting  of  a  gallant  spirit,  which  deserves  to  find 
more  imitators."  Of  the  men  captured  more  than  fifty 
perished  amid  the  horrors  of  Andersonville,  Florence, 
and  Columbia.  The  officers  were  confined  at  Macon 
awhile  and  afterwards  in  Charleston,  and  while  there 
placed  under  the  fire  of  our  batteries  on  Morris  Island. 


156 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  ASSAULT  ON  FORT  JOHNSON. 

THE  following  is  Colonel  Henry  M.  Hoyt's  report 
in  regard  to  the  assault  on  Fort  Johnson  and  Battery 
Simpkins : 

(Copy) 

No.  12.  "  Report  of  Col.  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  52nd  Pa. 
Infy.,  of  assault  on  Fort  Johnson  and  Batt'y  Simpkins." 

Charleston  Jail,  August  2,  1864. 

On  3rd  July  we  carried  Fort  Siinkins,  the  Brooke  Gun 
Batt'y,  and  with  135  men  (all  who  landed)  pushed  over 
the  parapets  of  Fort  Johnson,  and  the  garrison  had  ac 
tually  begun  to  leave.  The  battery  (Tynes)  was  in  our 
possession.  Nothing  but  the  failure  of  the  other  boats 
to  land  prevented  our  capture  of  the  works.  All  who 
landed  (five  boat-loads),  135,  were  captured.  I  trust 
the  most  thorough  investigation  will  be  made,  let  the 
responsibility  fall  where  it  may. 

HENRY  M.  HOYT,  Colonel  52nd  Pa.  Vols. 

Indorsement : 

August  5,  1864.  Received  by  the  hands  of  one  of  our 
released  officers.  Copy  to  be  sent  to  General  Schimmel- 
fennig. 

J.  G.  FOSTER,  Major-General,  Commanding. 

Head-Quarters  52nd  Pa.  Vol., 
MORRIS  ISLAND,  S.  C,  August  21,  1864. 
CAPTAIN, — 

I  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report  of  the  opera 
tions  of  the  52nd  Pa.  Vols.  on  Fort  Johnson  in  Charleston 
Harbor,  on  the  morning  of  3rd  July  last.  In  pursuance 

i57 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

of  orders  of  Col.  Gurney,  127  N.  Y.  Vols.,  commanding 
U.  S.  Forces,  Morris  Island,  S.  C,  the  52nd  Pa.  Vols. 
to  the  number  of  500  officers  and  men  embarked  in  twenty 
barges  on  the  evening  of  2nd  July  and  moved  to  Paine's 
Dock,  the  appointed  rendezvous,  arriving  there  somewhat 
before  12  midnight.  We  were  immediately  joined  by 
the  other  forces  composing  the  expedition,  to  wit — 60 
officers  and  men  of  the  3rd  Rhode  Island  Artillery  under 
Capt.  Churchill,  and  the  I27th  N.  Y.  Vols.  under  com 
mand  of  Major  Little  of  that  Regt.  At  a  few  minutes 
past  i  A.  M.,  the  moment  the  tide  (which  had  been  at  dead 
low  water)  turned,  the  fleet  of  boats  moved  for  its  desti 
nation,  under  the  instructions,  in  the  order,  and  for  the 
purpose  following:  All  these  instructions  and  orders  had 
been  fully,  carefully,  and  repeatedly  explained  and  com 
municated  to  the  officers  and  men  in  the  affair  to  an  ex 
tent  to  render  misconception  impossible.  We  were  to 
move  across  Charleston  Harbor,  land  on  the  beach  be 
tween  Fort  Johnson  and  Battery  Simkins,  assault  and 
carry  the  works  on  the  east  end  of  James  Island,  the 
attack  on  Fort  Johnson  being  assigned  to  the  52nd  Pa. 
Vols.,  that  on  Simkins  to  the  12 7th  N.  Y.  Vols.,  the  artil 
lery  detachment  being  divided  between  them  both.  The 
boats  were  to  move  across  the  Harbor  with  the  52nd  Pa. 
Vols.  in  advance,  followed  by  the  3rd  Rhode  Island  Ar 
tillery,  and  the  I27th  N.  Y.  Vols.  in  single  file,  well  closed 
up,  expecting  to  cross  the  Bar  at  a  point  midway  between 
Forts  Sumter  and  Simkins,  head  for  Johnson's  point,  face 
by  the  left  flank,  and  move  vigorously  to  the  beach  and 
carry  the  works  with  the  bayonet.  A  pilot  ( one  Sergeant 
Bennett  of  Co.  E,  I27th  N.  Y.  Vols.)  who  was  selected 
by  Col.  Gurney  to  conduct  us  was  placed  in  the  leading 
boat  commanded  by  ist  Lieut.  Farr,  52nd  Pa.  Vols.  Col. 
Gurney  announced  his  intention  of  making  his  own  Head 
Quarters  at  Paine's  Dock,  and  ordered  an  officer  of  his 
staff  (name  unknown  to  me)  to  report  with  a  light  dis 
patch-boat  to  myself,  then  to  be  the  Senior  Officer  in  the 
movement  across  the  Harbor  and  the  expected  assault. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

This  officer  did  not  report  to  me.  But  one  signal  of  re 
treat,  should  such  possibly  be  ordered,  was  agreed  upon, 
and  this  was  to  be  made  upon  a  bugle,  which  was  in  my 
possession.  With  these  plain  and  minute  instructions, 
which  were  understood  by  everybody  afloat,  we  moved 
from  Paine's  Dock  the  instant  the  tide  turned.  The  head 
of  the  column  properly  followed,  proceeded  in  the  proper 
direction.  I  am  aware  of  no  delay  which  occurred  except 
such  as  were  necessarily  caused  by  the  pilot  in  his  attempts 
to  find  and  keep  the  channel  he  sought.  Upon  arriving 
at  the  Bar,  extending  from  Simkins  to  Fort  Sumter,  the 
great  obstacle  we  had  to  encounter,  it  was  found  still 
to  be  out  of  water — the  tide  at  about  a  quarter  full.  The 
pilot  in  the  leading  boat  announced  his  utter  inability  to 
find  any  channel  through  the  bar,  and  declined  to  pro 
ceed,  and  had  clearly  struck  it  at  a  point  very  far  distant 
from  the  contemplated  passage.  I  know  not  whether 
to  attribute  the  actions  of  this  pilot  to  ignorance  or  de 
liberate  misconduct.  By  this  failure,  though  without 
personal  knowledge  of  the  locality,  I  was  driven  to  my 
own  responsibility  and  my  own  efforts  to  pass  that  Bar. 
During  the  delay  which  occurred  here,  the  barges  had  all 
closed  well  up  on  each  other,  and  the  expedition  was 
substantially  together  and  well  in  hand.  We  were  then 
lying  close  to  the  marsh  in  front  of  Simkins  and  not  more 
than  1,000  yards  from  Fort  Johnson,  the  general  direc 
tion  of  which  was  evident  enough.  Accident  put  us 
at  once  in  possession  of  a  practicable  passage  close  to  this 
marsh — deep,  but  only  admitting  one  boat  at  a  time,  and 
speedily  opening  into  a  much  wider  expanse.  Not  more 
than  ten  minutes  elapsed  after  the  refusal  of  the  pilot 
to  proceed  before  the  whole  expedition  was  under  orders, 
advancing  with  the  utmost  dispatch,  and  promptly  filing 
through  the  channel.  From  this  point  there  was  no 
obstacle  to  encounter  except  the  enemy.  It  was  becoming 
daylight  and  the  designated  point  of  landing  was  in  view. 
The  first  gun  was  fired  as  the  leading  boat  rounded  a 
small  sand-spit  running  out  from  Simkins  toward  the 


The  Fifty- Second  Regiment 

Brooke  Gun  Battery,  and  about  100  yards  from  it.  I  am 
persuaded,  after  the  most  thorough  subsequent  investiga 
tion,  aside  from  my  personal  knowledge  at  the  time,  that 
when  this  shot  was  fired  all  the  boats  of  the  52nd  Pa. 
Vols.  with  two  exceptions,  and  the  boats  of  the  3rd  Rhode 
Island  Heavy  Artillery  had  passed  the  Bar  and  were  in 
good  water.  The  distance  between  that  Bar  and  the 
leading  boat  did  not  exceed  600  yards.  Hereupon  can 
nonading  and  musketry  were  opened  upon  us  from 
Simkins  along  the  beach  and  from  Fort  Johnson  with 
considerable  rapidity,  but  entirely  over  our  heads.  A 
landing  was  immediately  and  successfully  effected  by  the 
leading  boats  at  the  Brooke  Gun  Battery,  which  was  read 
ily  carried,  and  no  halt  whatever  occurred  at  it.  Five 
boats  were  now  ashore,  being  those  commanded  by  Lt. 
Col.  Conyngham,  Capt.  T.  B.  Camp,  ist  Lt.  J.  G. 
Stephens,  and  Lt.  T.  E.  Evans,  with  my  own,  which 
besides  the  crew  carried  Acting  Adjutant  Bunyan.  a 
Bugler,  and  a  Signal  Sergeant,  being  a  total  of  6  officers 
and  135  men,  all  of  the  52nd  Pa.  Vols.  It  was  now 
apparent  that  not  only  were  no  other  boats  landing  but 
that  the  entire  expedition  were  retreating  in  the  boats, 
not  only  without  orders,  but  in  disobedience  to  the  most 
explicit  orders  to  the  contrary.  Neither  then  nor  since 
have  I  been  able  to  arrive  at  any  satisfactory  knowledge 
of  the  causes  and  facts  connected  with  their  failure  to 
land.  So  much  of  the  expedition  as  disembarked  pushed 
with  all  the  vigor  possible  upon  Fort  Johnson  and  its  con 
nected  line  of  higher  earthen  parapets.  The  parapet  was 
entered  near  the  main  Fort  with  a  brisk  movement  of 
about  30  of  the  advance  wrho  exchanged  shots  within  the 
work  but  were  compelled  to  retire.  The  whole  of  our 
force  was  then  conducted  along  the  entire  line  from  the 
Rebel  left  to  the  right,  with  repeated  efforts  to  enter  it, 
until  at  the  extreme  right  another  assault  was  attempted. 
It  was  only  partially  successful  and  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  the  most  of  the  troops  who  joined  in  the  attempt.  At 
this  time  my  forces  were  largely  outnumbered ;  the  con- 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

troversy  was  prolonged  some  little  time,  but  in  a  feeble 
and  desultory  manner,  and  the  undertaking  was  of  neces 
sity  abandoned.  The  entire  party  were  taken  prisoners. 
I  am  persuaded  that  at  the  time  of  our  landing  the  num 
ber  of  the  enemy  in  the  work  did  not  exceed  150,  nor  dur 
ing  the  pendency  of  our  attempts  to  enter  and  hold  the 
works  did  their  numbers  increase  by  reinforcements  which 
were  near  at  hand  to  more  than  300.  I  beg  leave  to 
speak  in  terms  of  unqualified  praise  of  the  conduct  of  the 
officers  whose  names  I  have  mentioned  above  and  the 
men  who  landed,  both  in  their  resolute  manner  of  bring 
ing  their  boats  ashore  and  the  gallantry  with  which, 
under  a  most  disheartening  want  of  support,  they  charged 
a  formidable  line  of  forts  and  earthworks  even  under 
severe  fire  of  musketry,  grape,  and  canister,  and  the 
tenacity  with  which  they  continued  an  evidently  hopeless 
struggle.  The  casualties  on  shore  were — killed  7; 
wounded  16;  total  23. 

I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  give  many  minute  particu 
lars  of  facts  which  occurred  and  make  this  report  a 
very  detailed  one. 

Very  respectfully  submitted, 

HENRY  M.  HOYT, 
Col.  52nd  Pa.  Vols. 
Capt.  R.  H.  L.  JEWETT, 
A.A.A.G.,  U.  S.  Forces,  Morris  Island,  S.  C. 

The  following  extracts  from  other  reports  of  this 
engagement,  both  Union  and  Confederate,  are  interesting 
additions  to  the  record: 

Extract  from  Report  of  Major  E.  H.  Little,  One  Hun 
dred  and  Twenty-seventh  New  York  Volunteers :  "If 
the  proper  spirit  had  been  shown,  if  the  efforts  of  the 
colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fifty-second  Penn 
sylvania  Volunteers  had  been  properly  supported.  I  think 
the  movement  would  have  been  a  success.'' 
ii  161 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Extract  from  Report  of  W.  L.  M.  Burger,  assistant 
adjutant-general,  to  Major-General  J.  G.  Foster: 
"  Colonel  Hoyt  himself  deserves  great  credit  for  his 
energy  in  urging  the  boats  forward  and  bringing  them 
through  the  narrow  channel,  and  the  feeling  which  led 
him  to  land  at  the  head  of  his  men  was  the  prompting  of 
a  gallant  spirit  which  deserved  to  find  more  imitators." 

Extract  of  Report  by  Major-General  Sam  Jones,  com 
manding,  to  General  Sam  Cooper,  C.S.A.,  Assistant  In 
spector  General,  Richmond,  Va. :  "  At  day  dawn  on  the 
3d,  about  1000  of  the  enemy  in  barges  made  an  attack 
on  Fort  Johnson.  They  were  handsomely  and  thor 
oughly  repulsed  by  the  garrison  at  Fort  Johnson  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Yates,  First  South  Carolina  Artillery, 
with  the  loss  to  the  enemy  of  140  men,  including  a  colonel 
and  5  other  commissioned  officers  captured  and  many 
wounded." 

The  failure  of  this  attempt,  so  daring  in  its  conception 
and  so  disastrous  in  its  results,  cast  a  gloom  over  the 
regiment  for  a  long  time.  The  report  of  Colonel  Hoyt 
and  the  extracts  of  other  reports  give  the  main  facts  con 
nected  with  the  affair.  The  attempt  at  this  late  day  to 
fix  the  responsibility  for  its  failure  would  be  incon 
clusive  and  fruitless.  It  is  certain  that  none  of  the  troops 
except  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  took  any  part  in 
the  fighting.  Also  that  Boat  No.  i,  in  which  was  the 
guide  and  pilot  of  the  expedition, — one  Sergeant  Robert 
Bennett,  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  New 
York,  who  was  selected  by  Colonel  Gurney  himself, — 
failed  to  get  to  the  beach  on  the  enemy's  side,  and  brought 
the  bold  navigator  unharmed  back  to  Paine's  dock,  where 
his  commander  was  no  doubt  anxiously  awaiting  dis- 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

patches  from  the  fleet  of  boats  he  had  so  valiantly  ordered 
across  the  harbor.  A  mix-up  of  boats  by  some  of  them 
getting  aground  crossing  a  sand-  and  mud-bar,  which  it 
is  claimed  might  have  been  avoided  had  the  guide  been 
selected  from  the  Fifty-second,  is  the  generally  accepted 
reason  for  the  other  boats  not  "  getting  there." 

The  Fifty-second  had  a  guide,  had  he  been  selected, 
who  no  doubt  could  and  would  have  piloted  the  procession 
of  boats  over  a  navigable  route  to  point  of  destination, 
and  landed  with  them.  (The  other  guide  did  neither.) 
That  man,  William  Scott,  at  that  time  corporal  of  Com 
pany  K,  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  is  now  living  in  Bing- 
hamton,  New  York.  He  was  one  of  the  trusted  pilots 
of  the  "  boat  infantry  "  under  Captain  Hennessy  when 
that  doughty  and  courageous  little  officer  was  in  com 
mand  of  that  branch  of  the  service.  In  a  letter  to  the 
writer  he  says :  "  When  Colonel  Hoyt  formed  his  plans 
I  was  called  to  his  quarters,  and  he  questioned  me  in 
regard  to  channels,  bars,  distances,  etc.,  and  conditions 
on  the  landing  side;  for  he  knew  I  was  familiar  with  the 
harbor,  and  that  some  time  previous,  when  General  Terry 
was  considering  an  attack  on  James  Island  by  way  of 
Simpkins,  I  had  been  sent  over  and  spent  twenty-four 
hours  on  the  island  with  instructions  to  find  out  all  I 
could  about  the  place.  I  moved  about  and  learned  all  I 
could  under  cover  of  darkness,  but  during  the  day  lay  in 
close  proximity  to  Battery  Simpkins  hidden  in  the  grass. 
I  could  not  stand  or  sit  up,  for  fear  of  being  discovered. 
My  armament  was  two  revolvers  and  a  canteen  of 
whiskey — the  latter  to  be  used  to  mollify  the  feelings 
and  soften  the  heart  of  any  stray  rebel  picket  who  might 
accidentally  stumble  on  my  place  of  concealment.  An 

163 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

officer  of  General  Terry's  staff  had  a  powerful  field-glass 
mounted  on  a  tripod  at  Paine's  dock  pointed  to  the  spot 
where  I  was  supposed  to  be  hidden,  and  thus  a  watchful 
eye  was  kept  upon  me  all  day.  At  night  Captain  Hen- 
nessy  came  with  his  boat  to  take  me  back,  and  his  low 
whistle — the  signal  agreed  upon — was  a  welcome  sound 
to  my  ears.  My  sole  duty  was  to  scout  the  harbor, 
going  out  at  the  same  hour  every  night,  thus  gaining  in 
formation  in  regard  to  the  channels,  bars,  etc.,  probably 
not  possessed  by  any  other  man  in  the  boat  infantry. 
The  bar,  which  caused  so  much  trouble  on  the  night  of 
the  attack,  was  bare  at  low  tide,  and  Captain  Hennessy 
and  myself  had  several  times  walked  over  it  and  to  the 
end  of  it,  from  which  point  we  would  fire  at  the  enemy's 
sentinels  showing  so  plainly  on  the  sky  line  of  the  parapet 
of  Sumter.  Hennessy  called  this  '  having  a  circus/  as 
it  caused  great  excitement  in  the  fort,  causing  the  long 
roll  or  call  to  arms  to  be  sounded." 

The  "  Boat  Infantry,"  as  it  was  called,  was  a  detach 
ment  detailed  to  picket  the  harbor  approaches  to  Morris 
Island  at  night  in  boats.  The  line  of  picket-boats  was 
thrown  out  every  night  some  distance  from  shore,  extend 
ing  around  Cummings  Point  between  the  island  and  Fort 
Sumter,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  toward  James 
Island.  The  boats  when  thrown  out  were  anchored  at 
the  places  selected  for  their  night's  tour  of  duty,  where 
they  remained  until  nearly  daylight  next  morning,  then 
returning  to  the  rendezvous  at  Paine's  dock,  the  encamp 
ment  of  the  detachment  being  near  the  "  Left  Batteries." 
An  officer  of  the  force  made  the  "  grand  rounds  "  several 
times  during  the  night  in  a  boat  on  the  bow  of  which  a 
small  brass  howitzer  was  pivoted.  All  these  boats  were 

164 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

manned  by  soldiers  experienced  with  the  use  of  oars  as 
well  as  muskets,  the  complement  being  six  oarsmen  and 
six  guards  each.  This  branch  of  the  service  was  very 
important,  and  the  duty  of  the  men  very  trying,  as  they 
could  not  march  back  and  forth  for  exercise  like  guards 
on  shore,  be  the  night  ever  so  cold,  wet,  and  dreary. 


165 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THREE- YEAR    MEN     (NOT    RE-ENLISTED)     MUSTERED    OUT. 

ON  the  4th  of  November  the  term  of  service — three 
years — of  a  large  number  of  the  regiment  expired,  and 
they  were  mustered  out.  (See  roster  for  names.)  A 
number  of  the  officers  were  also  at  this  time  mustered 
out,  to  wit:  Colonel  H.  M.  Hoyt,  Major  Thos.  B.  Jayne, 
Captain  W.  S.  Chatham,  Company  C,  and  First  Lieuten 
ant  Tim.  Mahoney,  Company  G. 

During  the  winter  following  a  portion  of  the  regiment 
was  on  duty  on  Black  Island.  About  the  first  of  De 
cember  an  expedition  under  General  Hatch  destroyed 
three  miles  of  railroad  and  the  railroad  bridge  at  Poco- 
taligo  between  Charleston  and  Savannah.  A  portion  of 
the  regiment  took  part  in  this  expedition.  Corporal  M. 
D.  Fuller,  of  Company  H,  made  quite  a  record  on  this 
raid  as  commander  of  a  "  mosquito  battery."  He  is  one 
of  our  "  survivors,"  and  for  many  years  has  been  a 
prominent  minister  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  the  Wyoming 
conference.  He  went  out  with  his  company  in  1861, 
re-enlisted  as  a  "  veteran  volunteer  "  in  January,  1864, 
and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  as  sergeant  on 
July  12,  1865,  after  a  continuous  service  of  nearly  four 
years,  most  creditably  performed.  On  January  27,  1865, 
some  more  of  the  officers  of  the  regiment,  having  served 
three  years  and  over,  were  at  their  own  request  mustered 
out, — namely,  Captain  J.  B.  Fish,  Company  H,  Captain 
N.  Pierson,  Company  G,  First  Lieutenant  Burton  K.  Gus- 
tin,  Company  F,  Second  Lieutenant  Alson  Secor,  Com 
pany  F. 

166 


LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  JOHN  A.  HENNESSY 

Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 
Brevet  Brigadier-General  United  States  Volunteers. 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

On  the  night  of  January  iQth  Captain  Hennessy,  with 
his  characteristic  activity,  got  up  a  "  circus  "  in  the  har 
bor  with  his  howitzer  boat,  frightening  the  captain  and 
crew  of  a  rebel  steamer  so  much  that  she  ran  aground 
near  Sumter,  where  our  batteries  next  morning  destroyed 
her.  For  this  and  other  services  he  received  the  com 
mendation  of  the  commanding  general  in  the  following 
order : 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS  NORTHERN  DISTRICT,  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH, 
First  Separate  Brigade, 

MORRIS  ISLAND,  S.  C,  January  30,  1865. 
GENERAL  ORDERS 

No.  2. 

The  Brigadier-General  Commanding  thanks  Captain 
John  A.  Hennessy,  52d  Regiment  Pa.  Vols.,  and  the 
officers  and  the  men  of  his  command,  for  their  energetic 
and  efficient  service  in  Charleston  Harbor  during  the  past 
two  months. 

The  Brigadier-General  especially  commends  the  bold 
and  spirited  enterprise  of  the  night  of  January  igth, 
by  which  a  rebel  steamer  was  driven  aground  near  Fort 
Sumter,  in  a  position  which  enabled  our  Batteries  to 
destroy  her. 

By  order  of 
Brig.-Gen'l  A.  SCHIMMELFENNIG. 

J.  W.  DICKINSON, 
Capt.  &  Ac't  Ass't  Adj't  Gen. 

On  February  5th  Captain  Hennessy  received  his  com 
mission  as  major  of  the  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsyl 
vania  Volunteers  and  took  command,  as  Colonel  John  B. 
Conyngham  had  not  yet  returned  to  the  regiment  from 
his  long  confinement  in  Southern  prisons.  On  February 

167 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

1 7th  Sherman's  army  reached  Columbia,  the  capital  of 
South  Carolina,  and  there  was  immediately  noticeable 
activity  among  the  enemy's  fortifications  around  the  har 
bor  and  in  the  city  of  Charleston.  At  that  time  we  were 
of  course  ignorant  of  the  progress  made  by  General  Sher 
man,  but  it  was  surmised  that  there  was  something  un 
usual  and  important  transpiring.  Things  were  being 
done  that  could  have  no  other  explanation  than  that  the 
enemy  were  cleaning  house  in  preparation  for  "  moving 
out."  The  following  description  of  what  transpired  and 
of  the  Fifty-second's  entry  into  the  "doomed"  city  will 
be  read  with  interest  by  the  survivors  and  their  relatives 
and  friends.  We  sincerely  regret  that  the  writer,  who 
met  with  the  "  Survivors'  Association "  for  so  many 
years  after  its  organization,  has  dropped  from  the  ranks 
of  his  comrades  by  death,  and  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  be 
able  to  include  in  this  history  the  narrative  of  our  occu 
pation  of  the  city  of  Charleston,  as  a  remembrance  of  him 
who  wrote  it. 


168 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ENTERING   CHARLESTON. 

COMRADE  R.  W.  BANNATYNE, — who  served  with  dis 
tinction  in  the  Fifty-second  Regiment  as  a  sergeant,  lieu 
tenant,  and  captain  of  Company  B, — in  a  letter  to  the 
National  Tribune  some  time  ago,  gave  a  graphic  descrip 
tion  of  the  entry  of  the  regiment  into  Charleston.  The 
letter  is  as  follows : 

"  On  the  1 7th  day  of  February,  1865,  I  was  detailed  as 
field  officer  of  the  day  at  Morris  Island,  S.  C,  and  went 
to  the  front  with  the  guard  about  5  P.M.  ;  left  my  horse 
at  Fort  Strong,  and  went  the  rounds  of  the  fortifications 
to  see  that  the  guards  were  properly  posted. 

"  On  my  return  to  Fort  Strong  in  the  evening,  Signal 
Sergeant  Colvin  remarked  that  he  believed  the  enemy 
were  about  to  move.  There  had  been  heavy  cannonading 
during  the  night  before,  ceasing  about  3  A.M.  ;  and  at 
that  time  fires  could  be  seen  at  different  places  in  Charles 
ton,  and  explosions  were  heard,  while  vessels  in  the  har 
bor  could  be  seen  on  fire. 

Col.  A.  G.  Bennett,  who  was  in  command  on  Morris 
Island,  came  to  Fort  Strong  early  in  the  next  morning, 
and  I  asked  him  to  relieve  me  from  duty  so  that  I  could 
return  to  my  regiment,  as  I  felt  fully  confident  that  the 
enemy  was  about  to  leave  the  fortifications  about  Charles 
ton,  that  we  had  been  looking  at  in  a  covetous  way  since 
July  10,  1863. 

"  After  a  little  delay  my  request  was  granted,  and, 
returning  to  camp,  I  found  a  sergeant  of  one  of  the  out- 

169 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

posts  on  the  marsh  nearest  to  James  Island  was  at  head 
quarters  of  the  regiment,  and  reported  the  enemy  falling 
back  from  their  outposts,  and  that  he  had  been  trying 
to  call  the  regimental  commander.  I  went  into  head 
quarters  and  found  Lieut.-Col.  Hennessy  sound  asleep, 
roused  him  up,  and  told  him  that  the  enemy  was  leaving 
his  fortifications.  He  then  gave  orders  for  the  regiment 
to  get  ready  and  march  to  the  boats  at  the  dock.  One 
of  the  boats  was  known  as  the  '  Ripley,'  named  after 
Gen.  Ripley,  of  the  Confederate  army,  who  was  after 
ward  captured  by  us.  This  boat  was  used  by  Major  Hen 
nessy,  with  a  picked  crew  of  10  oarsmen. 

"  The  52d  Pa.  at  this  time  was  doing  duty  as  boat 
infantry,  and  had  41  or  42  boats  of  all  kinds  and  descrip 
tions,  and  the  camp  was  on  the  west  or  harbor  side  of  the 
island.  There  were  no  boats  on  our  side  of  the  island 
except  our  own. 

u  Col.  Bennett  says  that  the  regiments  were  under 
orders  to  be  ready,  but  the  first  order  we  received  was 
after  we  were  marching  to  the  boats.  When  the  men 
took  their  places  we  were  soon  going  toward  the  harbor, 
with  Major  Hennessy  ahead.  Coming  out  of  the  narrow 
channel  into  the  harbor  at  what  was  then  known  as 
Paine's  dock,  our  course  would  bring  us  to  the  north  point 
of  the  island,  at  Fort  Gregg,  where  we  were  ordered  to 
report ;  but  part  of  the  boats  did  not  report  there. 

"  The  last  of  the  regiment  was  passing  Paine's  dock 
not  later  than  9 150  A.M.,  and  Major  Hennessy  was  then 
going  directly  past  Fort  Gregg  to  Fort  Swnter,  1440 
yards  distant,  and  his  was  the  first  boat  to  reach  that 
fort  and  display  the  flag  of  the  regiment  on  its  parapet. 

"  Corporal  Johnson,  Co.  G,  was  the  first  man  to  land, 

170 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

followed  by  Major  Hennessy  and  Lieut.  Burr.  As  the 
boats  passed  Fort  Gregg,  Col.  Bennett  was  standing  on 
the  beach  with  30  or  40  men.  Col.  Bennett  asked  Hen 
nessy  where  he  was  going.  The  reply  was,  '  To  Fort 
Sumter;  will  you  go  along?  '  The  answer  came,  '  No/ 
Major  Hennessy  and  his  men  were  in  the  fort  from  10  to 
20  minutes,  and  then  Col.  Bennett  and  Lieut.  Haviland 
started  with  a  boat  towards  the  city,  Major  Hennessy 
starting  from  Fort  Sumter.  At  Fort  Gregg  the  boats 
of  the  regiment  that  landed  took  in  men  of  the  3d  R.  I. 
H.  A.,  and  Co.  B's  boat  took  in  some  men  of  the  3d,  with 
orders  from  Capt.  Jenks,  of  Col.  Bennett's  staff,  to  place 
them  in  Fort  Sumter  as  a  garrison. 

"  Col.  Bennett  and  Major  Hennessy  were  then  going 
up  the  harbor  toward  the  city.  Col.  Bennett  called  to 
Hennessy  to  wait,  and  he  then  got  into  Hennessy's  boat, 
which  landed  at  Fort  Ripley,  Lieut.  Haviland's  boat  pull 
ing  for  Castle  Pinckney.  Lieut.  Haviland  and  Corporal 
Johnson  both  ran  for  a  large  Confederate  flag  that  was 
flying.  Lieut.  Haviland  pulled  down  the  flag,  but  Cor 
poral  Johnson  with  his  knife  cut  the  rope  and  got  away 
with  the  flag  to  Hennessy's  boat,  and  then  both  boats 
pulled  for  the  city,  Hennessy's  boat  reaching  the  dock 
first,  and  Johnson  being  the  first  man  ashore  in  the  city. 

"  Lieut.  Runyon,  Co.  G,  commanded  the  third  boat 
that  landed.  Corp'l  Thomas  W.  Evans,  Co.  B,  was  with 
Runyon  and  was  sent  with  some  men  after  horses  for 
use  at  head-quarters. 

''  The  boat  infantry  flag  was  flying  on  the  post-office 
before  n  A.M.  Co.  B,  landing  a  few  moments  after, 
found  Lieut.  Burr,  with  orders  to  march  to  the  citadel. 

''  Just  as  we  landed  several  of  the  Confederate  iron- 

171 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

clads  in  the  harbor  were  blown  up,  with  loud  reports. 
The  streets  were  crowrded  with  contrabands  anxious  to 
see  the  army.  We  stayed  at  the  citadel  but  a  short  time, 
and  were  then  ordered  to  the  armory,  which  was  reported 
on  fire,  but  this  proved  to  be  a  false  alarm.  We  saw  no 
men  in  the  city  except  Col.  Bennett  and  staff  and  Major 
Hennessy  of  the  52d  Pa.  and  detachments  of  the  3d  R.  I. 
In  the  afternoon  the  2ist  U.  S.  C.  T.  and  other  regiments 
began  to  arrive,  coming  by  way  of  James  Island,  and  fer 
ried  over  to  the  city. 

"  Lieut.  Gilchrist  was  early  in  the  city,  and  was  sent 
to  take  possession  of  a  blockade  runner  that  was  near 
the  wharf  with  a  valuable  cargo.  She  had  been  set  on 
fire,  but  the  fire  was  put  out.  In  the  course  of  the  after 
noon  the  city  was  under  control,  and  guards  were  sent 
to  the  railroad  depots  and  rice  mills. 

"  Admiral  Dahlgren  arrived  at  3  P.M.  at  the  dock,  and 
was  met  by  Corp'l  Evans  with  horses,  and  he  was  sur 
prised  that  the  Department  Commander  was  not  there. 
The  British  Consul  came  to  the  citadel  shortly  after  we 
arrived,  and  wanted  to  see  the  commanding  officer;  but 
the  boys  did  not  seem  to  show  him  as  much  respect  as  he 
thought  he  was  entitled  to.  The  city  was  on  fire  at 
different  places,  and  the  firemen  were  afraid  to  come  out 
and  work  until  we  protected  them  by  patrols  on  the 
streets  to  keep  order.  I  notice  Lieut.  Haviland  in  his 
statement  says  the  firing  on  the  city  was  done  from  the 
'  Swamp  Angel '  battery  and  from  rifled  guns  on  Fort 
Putnam.  The  *  Swamp  Angel '  had  been  dismounted 
early  in  the  siege.  Fort  Putnam,  known  as  Battery  Chat- 
field,  faced  Sullivan's  Island.  Fort  Gregg  was  the  near 
est  point  to  the  city,  and  did  most  of  the  firing  on  the  city, 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

principally  from  a  thirty-pounder  Parrott,  at  about  four 
miles  range. 

"  Paine's  Dock,  which  was  in  front  of  the  north  point 
of  Morris  Island,  may  be  remembered  as  the  Confederate 
floating  battery  that  was  built  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war  and  had  been  abandoned,  and  the  high  tides  had 
carried  it  down  on  the  marsh,  where  it  made  a  station 
for  our  picket  lines  near  the  mouth  of  Light-house  River. 
While  we  were  going  to  the  city,  and  some  time  after 
Major  Hennessy  had  left  the  fort,  another  boat's  crew 
landed  and  hoisted  a  flag  on  the  parapet  of  Fort  Sumter." 


173 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

OCCUPYING  THE  FORTIFICATIONS. 

WHEN  the  city  was  in  our  possession,  the  enemy's 
works  on  James  Island  and  other  fortifications  around 
the  harbor  were  taken  possession  of  also  by  details  from 
the  various  regiments.  Company  H  and  Company  F 
of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  occupied  the  Citizen 
Battery  and  the  "  Bull  of  the  Woods  "  on  James  Island. 

The  Fifty-second  Regiment,  after  a  few  days'  occu 
pation  of  the  city,  was  marched  out  to  the  race-course, 
about  three  miles  in  the  suburbs  west  of  the  town,  where 
it  bivouacked  until  the  camp  equipage  was  brought  up 
from  Morris  Island.  From  this  point  a  movement  was 
made  in  the  direction  of  Sherman's  line  of  march,  in 
which  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  took  an  active  part. 
The  force,  only  two  regiments,  went  out  about  thirty 
miles,  where,  at  Monk's  Corners,  it  had  a  brush  with  a 
small  force  of  the  enemy.  After  driving  them  across 
the  Santee  Canal,  the  chase  was  abandoned,  and  the 
troops  returned  to  Charleston  on  February  27th.  On 
March  ist  the  regiment  moved  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  a  nice 
little  residence  place  on  the  north  side  of  Charleston  Har 
bor  about  two  or  three  miles  west  of  Sullivan's  Island 
on  which  stands  Fort  Moultrie.  There  were  a  number 
of  handsome  places  here  that  had  been  vacated  by  the 
owners,  who  had  fled  away  when  we  entered  Charleston 
and  taken  refuge  at  Cheraw,  near  the  North  Carolina 
line,  on  the  Great  Pee  Dee  River.  They  had  left  P.  D. 
quick,  and  much  of  their  household  goods  and  furniture 
remained.  Nearly  the  whole  regiment  found  quarters 

i74 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

in  various  buildings.  Companies  H  and  C  took  up  their 
abode  in  the  spacious  ball-room  of  the  Mount  Pleasant 
House.  The  Quartermaster  and  Commissary  Depart 
ment  found  quarters  in  a  house  occupied  by  a  Frenchman, 
who  had  been  engineer  of  a  blockade-runner,  now  out  of 
a  job  and  apparently  out  of  provisions.  A  very  satis 
factory  arrangement  was  entered  into,  whereby  the  Com 
missary  furnished  the  provisions,  the  family  did  the 
cooking,  furnished  and  waited  on  the  table,  and  made 
the  beds.  The  Quartermaster  Department  furnished  a 
fine  piano,  bringing  it  from  one  of  the  deserted  man 
sions  near-by,  and  the  young  ladies  furnished  the  accom 
paniments  and  vocal  music  to  make  life  pleasant.  It  was 
a  wonderful  change  from  the  many  weary  months  we  had 
spent  on  the  desert  sands  of  Morris  Island;  but,  alas, 
all  too  brief  were  its  pleasures!  On  March  I7th  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  was  rudely  ordered  away  from 
this  pleasant  Mount  Pleasant,  and,  taking  transports,  was 
landed  a  few  days  thereafter  at  Newberne,  N.  C.  Here 
the  old  Fifty-second  was  incorporated  into  the  Twenty- 
third  Army  Corps,  which  had  been  brought  east  by  rail 
from  Tennessee  to  Annapolis,  Md.,  and  sent  down  to 
North  Carolina  to  augment  Sherman's  forces  for  the 
final  "  round-up  "  of  the  Confederacy. 


i7S 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

WITH  SHERMAN'S  ARMY. 

THE  Tenth  Corps,  commanded  by  General  A.  H.  Terry, 
under  whom  our  regiment  had  served  on  James  and 
Morris  Islands  in  South  Carolina,  was  on  the  move  from 
Wilmington  towards  Goldsboro.  Schofield  with  the 
Twenty-third  Corps  occupied  the  latter  place  on  the  even 
ing  of  March  2ist,  and  Terry's  command  came  in  on  the 
22d,  crossing  the  Neuse  River  from  the  south  on  a  pon 
toon  bridge,  which  they  laid  at  Cox's  Ferry.  Sherman's 
army  also  made  its  appearance  on  this  day,  coming  over 
the  river  on  the  same  bridge.  The  left  wing  of  his  army, 
under  General  H.  W.  Slocum,  had  been  attacked  by 
all  the  Confederate  forces  General  Joe  Johnston  could 
concentrate  against  him,  at  Bentonville,  on  the  iQth,  and 
a  hotly  contested  engagement  had  taken  place  there. 
Johnston's  forces  amounted  to  about  twenty-five  thou 
sand,  with  which  he  attempted  to  "  do  up  "  the  left  wing 
of  Sherman's  army  before  the  right  wing  could  be 
brought  up.  The  Fourteenth  Corps  was  struck  heavily 
by  Hardee  and  Hoke,  and  its  leading  division — Carlin's — 
was  driven  back  the  same  as  Casey's  was  at  Fair  Oaks. 
The  Fourteenth  Corps  withstood  the  shock  of  repeated 
furious  charges  during  the  day,  supported  by  the  Twen 
tieth  Corps,  which  had  been  brought  up  on  the  left.  The 
enemy,  failing  to  destroy  the  left  wing  in  detail,  fell  back 
behind  his  intrenchments  on  Mill  Creek,  which  were  held 
until  Sherman's  right  wing  came  up  on  the  2ist.  That 
night  Johnston  retired  towards  Smithfield,  destroying  the 
bridges  behind  him. 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Sherman's  army,  concentrated  at  and  around  Golds- 
boro,  was  increased  here  by  about  twenty-five  thousand 
troops,  being  the  Twenty-third  Corps  and  Terry's  com 
mand  called  the  Tenth  Corps.  These  two  corps 
were  combined  as  the  "  Army  of  the  Ohio  "  and  given 
the  position  of  "  centre  "  of  Sherman's  army,  the  "  right," 
or  "  Army  of  the  Tennessee,"  under  General  O.  O.  How 
ard,  and  the  left,  called  the  "  Army  of  Georgia,"  under 
General  Henry  W.  Slocum,  making  three  grand  divisions. 
General  J.  M.  Schofield,  who  had  been  in  command  of 
the  Twenty-third  Corps,  was  put  at  the  head  of  the 
"  Army  of  the  Ohio,"  and  General  J.  D.  Cox  succeeded 
him  as  commander  of  the  corps.  The  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  was  given  a  place  in  the  First  Brigade  of 
the  Second  Division  of  this  corps.  The  division  was 
commanded  by  General  T.  H.  Ruger,  and  the  brigade  by 
Colonel  O.  H.  Moore.  The  latter  was  colonel  of  the 
Twenty-fifth  Michigan,  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  bri 
gade.  On  the  Qth  of  April  Colonel  John  B.  Conyngham 
arrived  in  camp  and  took  command  of  the  regiment.  He 
had  been  absent  since  the  night  of  July  3,  1864,  when 
he  was  captured  with  Colonel  Hoyt  while  gallantly  lead 
ing  their  men  against  Fort  Johnson  in  Charleston  Har 
bor.  He  was  looking  fine,  and  the  officers  and  men  were 
greatly  pleased  to  have  him  once  more  in  the  saddle  at 
their  head. 


12  177 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MARCHING  THROUGH  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

THE  next  day,  April  loth,  orders  were  issued  for 
the  advance  of  the  army,  and  the  final  march  was  begun. 
Everything  in  the  shape  of  camp  equipage  not  actually 
necessary  for  campaigning  was  left  at  Goldsboro,  and 
the  troops  started  off  almost  in  "  light  marching  order." 
The  first  day's  march  was  through  the  "  piny  woods," 
where  tar  and  pitch  and  turpentine  were  made.  That 
night  the  camp  was  in  a  piece  of  pine  woods  where  a 
plant  was  located  for  the  manufacture  of  these  so-called 
naval  stores.  In  the  morning,  after  the  coffee  and  hard 
tack  were  disposed  of,  fire  was  started  in  the  pitch  that 
encrusted  the  ground  for  some  distance  around  the  old 
works,  making  a  bonfire  that  sent  a  pillar  of  black  smoke 
high  in  the  air,  which  could  be  seen  during  the  whole 
day's  march  by  looking  back  when  there  was  a  halt. 
The  march  through  Smithfield,  where  the  Neuse  River 
was  crossed  on  a  pontoon  bridge,  and  on  to  Raleigh,  the 
capital  of  the  State,  was  rapid,  hot,  and  dusty.  The  men, 
however,  did  not  grumble;  they  were  glad  to  be  freed 
from  their  long  tour  of  service  on  the  seaboard,  and  once 
more  "  marching  on  "  with  a  great  army.  It  was  indeed 
soul-inspiring  and  heart-strengthening,  this  new  environ 
ment,  and  the  prospect  of  very  soon  ending  the  great  re 
bellion,  putting  new  life  and  vim  into  the  hearts  and  limbs 
of  the  Fifty-second  boys.  It  was  like  getting  out  of 
enforced  confinement  to  them,  and  it  surely  was  to 
Colonel  Conyngham,  who  so  proudly  led  them  onward. 
While  on  the  march  and  before  reaching  Raleigh,  a 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

man  on  a  galloping  horse  passed  along  the  line,  swinging 
his  hat  and  yelling  to  the  troops,  "  Lee  has  surrendered 
to  Grant — his  whole  army!"  and  went  dashing  on,  re 
peating  the  glad  news  to  every  regiment  on  the  road.  A 
halt  was  made,  cheers  followed  the  announcement  all 
along  the  line,  and,  when  the  truth  was  fully  realized, 
pandemonium  broke  loose.  No  attempt  to  keep  order  or 
restrain  the  outburst  of  rejoicing  was  made.  The  officers 
were  as  wild  as  the  men,  joining  with  them  in  singing 
"  Glory,  glory,  hallelujah!  "  and  mounting  stumps  by  the 
roadside  to  make  speeches,  then,  swinging  their  hats, 
calling  "  three  cheers  for  old  Grant — God  bless  him !  " 
and  "  three  more  for  '  Uncle  Billy  '  Sherman !  "  It  was 
fully  a  half-hour  before  the  troops,  with  their  throats 
dry  from  yelling,  shouting,  and  singing,  again  shouldered 
their  muskets  and  continued  the  march.  They  had 
started  out  from  Goldsboro  with  confident  hopes  of  ulti 
mate  victory.  Now  they  knew  it  was  surely  coming, 
and  went  gayly  on  with  light  feet,  willing  hearts,  and 
ready  hands  to  complete  the  work. 

On  the  morning  of  April  I3th  Sherman's  advance  en 
tered  Raleigh.  He  pushed  on  with  the  cavalry  towards 
Durham  Station,  followed  by  the  right  wing  following 
the  railroad,  while  the  left  wing  swung  away  towards 
Ashboro  to  prevent  Johnston  retreating  south.  The 
"  Army  of  the  Ohio  "  took  an  intermediate  route,  leaving 
a  considerable  force  at  Raleigh  to  protect  communications 
and  be  reserve  for  the  right  and  left  wings. 

On  April  I5th  Johnston  was  ready  to  throw  up  the 
sponge.  Accordingly  he  made  overtures  to  Sherman  and 
arranged  to  meet  him  the  next  day  five  miles  beyond 
Durham  Station  on  the  Hillsboro  road  to  negotiate  terms 

179 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

of  surrender.  A  cessation  of  hostilities  took  place,  and 
three  days  were  spent  in  conferences  between  the  two 
commanders.  On  April  igth  it  was  announced  that  the 
terms  had  been  agreed  upon.  It  transpired  afterwards 
that  these  terms  were  made  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
authorities  at  Washington,  and  that  they  did  not  meet 
with  approval  there  because  they  included  some  stipu 
lations  of  a  political  nature  not  considered  within  the 
province  of  a  military  commander.  To  settle  the  diffi 
culty  General  Grant  came  quietly  to  Raleigh  by  way  of 
Moorehead  City  and  Goldsboro,  held  a  conference  with 
Sherman,  and  instructed  him  that  the  government  would 
approve  only  the  same  terms  given  to  Lee  at  Appomat- 
tox.  On  April  26th  Sherman  had  another  conference 
with  Johnston,  who  accepted  the  terms  given  to  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia, — and  the  war  was  over. 
General  Grant  had  remained  quietly  in  Raleigh  during 
the  final  negotiations,  only  a  few  at  head-quarters  having 
any  knowledge  of  his  presence,  and  on  the  27th  left  on 
his  return.  General  Schofield  was  charged  with  the 
details  of  the  surrender,  which  was  completed  at  Greens 
boro,  where  the  army  under  Johnston  stacked  their  arms, 
packed  their  artillery,  and  dispersed  in  various  direc 
tions  for  their  homes. 

While  the  Fifty-second  was  encamped  at  Greensboro 
the  news  of  President  Lincoln's  assassination  was  an 
nounced.  General  Sherman  had  been  advised  of  the  fact 
at  Raleigh,  but  had  suppressed  it,  fearing  the  indignation 
of  his  soldiers  would  result  in  the  capital  of  North 
Carolina  being  treated  as  harshly  as  was  Columbia,  S.  C. 
The  feeling  that  the  war  was  over,  and  that  this  great 
sacrifice  was  the  crowning  cost  of  victory,  pervaded  the 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

minds  of  the  men,  and  no  outbreak,  beyond  their  smoth 
ered  imprecations,  took  place.  Some  of  the  most  prom 
inent  citizens  expressed  their  abhorrence  of  the  dastardly 
deed,  and  said  that  in  Lincoln's  death  the  South  had  lost 
the  one  great  man  upon  whom  they  had  depended  for 
their  future  welfare. 

After  the  completion  of  the  details  of  the  surrender 
and  the  dispersion  of  Johnston's  army,  four  corps  of 
Sherman's  army — the  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth,  Seven 
teenth,  and  Twentieth — started  on  their  way  to  Wash 
ington,  D.  C,  there  to  take  part  in  the  "  Grand  Review," 
and  thence  to  their  home  States  for  muster-out. 


181 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

AT  SALISBURY,,  N.  C. 

THE  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania,  with  the  other 
regiments  of  the  brigade,  had  marched  from  Raleigh  by 
way  of  Chapel  Hill  and  Graham,  to  Greensboro,  and 
here  went  into  camp,  or  rather  bivouac,  until  the  camp 
equipage  left  behind  at  Goldsboro  was  brought  up.  From 
here  it  was  sent  south  to  Salisbury,  N.  C.,  with  the  bri 
gade,  and  camped  there  until  July  I2th,  when  a  tele 
graphic  order  was  received  from  the  War  Department 
for  its  muster-out.  Tents  were  struck  quickly  and  every 
thing  bundled  aboard  a  train  provided,  headed  for  the 
North.  The  regiment  filed  into  the  passenger  cars,  the 
bell  rang,  the  boys  cheered,  and  the  old  Fifty-second 
Pennsylvania  was  on  its  way  home.  The  train  passed 
through  Greensboro,  Burksville  Junction,  and  Petersburg, 
to  City  Point,  Va.  Here  we  boarded  a  transport,  which 
steamed  away  down  the  James  River,  passing  Harrison's 
Landing  a  little  below  on  the  left  bank,  where  the  regi 
ment  was  encamped  in  July,  1862, — just  three  years  be 
fore, — after  passing  through  seven  days'  fighting  in  front 
of  Richmond  which  closed  McClellan's  peninsular  cam 
paign.  The  old  Harrison  house  and  the  Westover  man 
sion  looked  about  the  same  as  they  did  three  years  before, 
and  some  of  the  boys  could  point  out  the  trees  under 
which  they  slept — or  at  least  claimed  they  could — the 
first  night  after  they  reached  that  haven  of  rest.  Leav 
ing  this  familiar  scene  behind,  the  course  was  down  the 
river  to  Fort  Monroe  and  up  the  Chesapeake  to  Annapo 
lis.  Thence  by  rail  to  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  passing  through 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

York  on  the  way.  When  the  regiment  went  to  Wash 
ington  in  November,  1861,  there  were  boys  on  the  station 
platform  at  York  selling  hard-boiled  eggs  to  the  soldiers. 
When  the  train  stopped  at  York  on  this  last  trip  home 
ward,  the  boys  with  baskets  of  hard-boiled  eggs  were  on 
the  platform  offering  them  for  sale  about  as  they  did  in 
1861.  Of  course  the  "  veterans,"  who  remembered  the 
incidents  of  the  earlier  box-car  trip  through  York,  had 
to  buy  some  eggs  and  munch  them  with  great  gusto,  as 
they  related  some  of  the  amusing  incidents  of  that  first 
trip.  Harrisburg  was  again  reached,  where  quarters  in 
Camp  Curtin  were  once  more  occupied.  The  muster-out 
rolls  were  completed,  the  officers  made  up  their  final 
accounts  for  property  turned  in,  and  then  the  "  old 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  "  Regiment  melted  away  into 
civil  life. 


183 


Appendix 


GENERAL  HENRY  M.  HOYT 

Colonel  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 
Brevet  Brigadier-General  United  States  Volunteers. 


Biographical  Sketches 


HENRY  MARTIN  HOYT. 

THE  Philadelphia  Inquirer,  Friday  morning,  Decem 
ber  2,  1892,  published  the  following: 

EX-GOVERNOR   HOYT  DIES   IN   WILKESBARRE HIS   CAREER 

AS  A  SOLDIER,   POLITICIAN,   AND  LAWYER. 

WILKESBARRE,  December  ist. — Ex-Governor  Henry 
M.  Hoyt  died  at  his  home  here  shortly  after  2  o'clock 
this  morning.  The  end  was  peaceful.  He  had  been 
suffering  for  a  long  time  past.  Six  months  ago  he  was 
stricken  with  paralysis,  and  three  months  later  he  had 
another  stroke.  Since  then  he  began  to  fail  rapidly. 
The  ex-Governor  since  the  war  was  never  a  strong  man, 
having  contracted  a  disease  in  the  army  which  made  him 
more  or  less  of  an  invalid.  The  funeral  will  take  place 
on  Saturday  afternoon  at  3  o'clock,  when  services  will 
be  held  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city. 

Henry  Martin  Hoyt  was  born  in  Kingston,  Luzerne 
County,  Pa.,  June  8,  1830.  He  was  educated  at  Wyom 
ing  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pa.,  and  Lafayette  College, 
Mass.,  graduating  in  1849.  He  immediately  began  the 
study  of  law  in  Wilkesbarre  with  George  W.  Woodward, 
later  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penn 
sylvania.  He  married  Mary  E.  Loveland,  of  Kingston, 
in  1855.  He  took  part  in  the  Fremont  campaign  and 
became  an  active  member  of  the  new  Republican  party. 

187 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  active  in 
organizing  the  Fifty-second  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers.  He  was  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel, 
and,  his  regiment  being  in  the  brigade  of  General  Naglee, 
participated  in  the  Peninsular  Campaign  of  1862.  His 
war  record  is  an  enviable  one  and  his  active  work  soon 
earned  him  promotion.  During  the  siege  of  Charleston, 
S.  C,  under  General  Quincy  A.  Gillmore,  he  was  cap 
tured,  July  3,  1864,  in  a  night  attack  in  boats  on  Fort 
Johnston,  having  succeeded  in  entering  the  fort  but  not 
in  holding  it.  For  some  time  he  was  confined  at  Macon, 
Ga,,  and  was  then  taken  to  Charleston,  whence  he  made 
his  escape,  but  was  recaptured.  Finally  he  was  ex 
changed  and  rejoined  his  regiment,  being  mustered  out 
with  the  rank  of  brevet  brigadier-general. 

After  the  war  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in 
Wilkesbarre,  and  became  active  in  politics.  In  1875 
General  Hartranft  became  a  candidate  for  Governor  for 
a  second  term.  Hoyt  was  made  chairman  of  the  Re 
publican  State  Committee,  and  conducted  the  campaign 
successfully.  As  a  party  leader  he  was  bold  and  aggres 
sive.  In  1878  he  became  a  candidate  for  Governor  him 
self.  His  claims  were  warmly  espoused  by  Mr.  Quay, 
and  as  warmly  opposed  by  Senator  Cameron.  Cameron 
finally  yielded  and  Hoyt  was  nominated.  Quay  con 
ducted  the  campaign  for  Hoyt  and  landed  him  a  winner 
after  a  desperate  contest  in  which  the  Third  party  vote 
was  the  unknown  quantity. 

As  Governor,  Hoyt  showed  a  wonderful  grasp  of  de 
tails.  He  was  an  educated  man,  a  statesman  as  well  as 
a  politician,  and  he  struck  out  for  himself  in  handling 
questions  of  state.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  been  a  strict 

188 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

party  man,  but  gradually  his  inclinations  led  him  into  an 
independent  channel.  In  1879  he  appointed  Stanley 
Woodward  additional  law  judge  of  Luzerne  County. 
Woodward  was  a  personal  friend,  but  a  Democrat,  and 
the  appointment  aroused  considerable  feeling  among 
Republican  partisans,  especially  at  Hoyt's  home. 

After  the  inauguration  of  Governor  Pattison,  Gover 
nor  Hoyt  came  to  Philadelphia  and  settled  down  to  the 
practice  of  law.  Disease  grew  upon  him,  and  for  the 
past  four  years  he  had  been  living  quietly  in  Wilkesbarre. 

The  sketch  of  General  Hoyt  as  above  given  fails  to 
mention  that  in  1867  he  held  the  office  of  additional  law 
judge  of  the  courts  of  Luzerne  County  under  appoint 
ment  of  Governor  Geary.  In  all  the  various  important 
and  trying  positions  of  his  military  service  and  public 
life,  he  was  a  fearless  man, — a  champion  of  right  and 
justice.  He  led  his  soldiers  in  action,  and  he  was  no 
less  a  leader  in  civil  life  both  in  thought  and  action. 
He  was  a  man  of  broad  mind  and  also  of  large  heart. 
His  sympathetic  nature  is  well  illustrated  in  his  treatment 
of  the  Confederate  officers  who  were  placed  as  prisoners 
of  war  on  Morris  Island  under  guard  in  front  of  our 
fortifications,  in  retaliation  for  like  treatment  given  him 
self  and  other  Union  officers  in  Charleston,  where  they 
were  placed  under  fire  from  our  batteries.  After  being 
exchanged  he  was  temporarily  in  command  of  these  pris 
oners  and  advised  to  reduce  their  rations  to  the  same  as 
given  him  while  he  was  a  prisoner.  He  visited  the  Con 
federate  prison  camp  with  this  idea,  but  returned  after 
conversing  with  the  prisoners,  saying,  "  Boys,  I  haven't 
the  heart  to  do  it — they  are  men  like  ourselves."  He  was 
a  lovable  man,  and  if  he  had  any  failings  the  "  old  boys  " 

189 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  will  not  recall  them; 
"  they  knew  him  but  to  love  him,  they  name  him  but  to 
praise." 

COLONEL  JOHN  BUTLER  CONYNGHAM. 

MAJOR,     LIEUTENANT-COLONEL,     AND     COLONEL     FIFTY- 
SECOND  REGIMENT   PENNSYLVANIA  VOLUNTEERS; 
CAPTAIN  THIRTY-EIGHTH  U.  S.  INFANTRY  AND 
BREVET-COLONEL    U.    S.    ARMY. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Wilkesbarre, 
Pa.,  on  the  2gth  day  of  September,  1827.  He  was  the 
son  of  Judge  Conyngham  of  Luzerne  County,  Pa.,  for 
many  years  president  judge  of  that  county.  After  com 
pleting  his  preliminary  studies  he  entered  Yale  College 
in  1842,  graduating  therefrom  with  high  honors  in  1846. 
While  pursuing  his  college  course  he  became  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity  of  Yale. 
He  took  up  the  profession  of  law,  being  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Luzerne  County,  August  6,  1849.  He  struck  out 
for  practice  in  a  new  field,  going  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
in  1852.  He  remained  there  four  years  and  then  re 
turned  to  his  home  town.  This  was  in  the  year  1856, 
when  John  C.  Fremont  was  a  candidate  for  President. 
It  is  not  known  that  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question, 
at  that  time  going  on  throughout  the  country,  had  in 
fluence  in  deciding  him  to  leave  the  great  and  growing 
city  of  St.  Louis  or  not ;  but  it  is  surmised  that,  although 
a  Democrat,  his  views  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  man 
were  so  strongly  fixed,  even  at  that  day,  that  he  found 
his  environment  uncongenial. 

In  the  year  1858  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 

190 


, 


COLONEL  JOHN  B.  CONYNGHAM 

Fifty-second   Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 
1861-1865 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society  in  Wilkes- 
barre,  and  remained  an  active  member  during  his  life 
time. 

When  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
don  the  blue  and  go  to  the  defence  of  his  country.  He 
entered  the  service  and  was  made  second  lieutenant  of 
Company  C,  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  After  his 
three  months'  term  of  service  expired,  he  was  ready  for 
further  duty,  and  was  instrumental  in  completing  the 
formation  of  the  Fifty-second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  for  a  three  years'  term  of  service.  At  the 
final  foundation  of  the  regiment,  October  7,  1861,  he 
was  appointed  major.  He  was  in  appearance,  as  he 
proved  to  be  in  fact,  a  thoroughgoing  soldier.  Tall  and 
straight  as  an  Indian,  he  inspired  a  confidence  among  the 
men  of  his  command  that  was  never  withdrawn  during 
the  four  years  of  service.  He  always  insisted  on  a  sol 
dier  being  soldierly  in  appearance  and  doing  his  duty. 
He  was  thoughtful  of  his  men,  but  he  had  a  stern  sense 
of  duty  which  was  obeyed  implicitly  and  unquestion- 
ingly.  Those  under  him  were  expected  to  do  the  same. 
At  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  May  31,  1862,  when  the 
bullets  were  whizzing  and  shells  bursting  and  men  were 
dropping  around  him,  his  strong  voice  rang  out,  as  he 
marched  up  and  down  the  line,  with  "  Steady,  boys, 
steady !  "  and  "  Give  it  to  them,  boys ;  give  it  to  them 
hot."  Some  of  the  old  boys  say  he  used  much  stronger 
language  than  that,  but  we  leave  that  to  the  imagination 
of  the  reader.  He  was  usually  very  concise  and  polished 
in  his  language,  and  if  he  ever  used  profanity  it  must 
have  been  under  exasperating  circumstances.  There  was 
no  lack  of  provocation  at  Fair  Oaks. 

191 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

On  January  9,  1864,  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant- 
colonel,  in  place  of  H.  M.  Hoyt,  who  became  colonel 
after  the  resignation  of  Colonel  John  C.  Dodge. 

As  already  recited  in  these  pages,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Conyngham  was  in  one  of  the  leading  boats  in  the  attack 
on  Fort  Johnson  in  Charleston  Harbor,  and  was  among 
those  who  landed  and  led  in  the  gallant  but  fruitless 
fight  that  ensued.  It  was  in  the  early  morning  of  July  3, 
1864.  With  Colonel  Hoyt,  four  other  officers,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  enlisted  men,  he  became  a  pris 
oner  of  war.  He  did  not  return  to  the  regiment  until  it 
had  become  a  part  of  Sherman's  army,  when  he  reap 
peared  April  9,  1865,  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C.,  and  assumed 
command  as  colonel.  His  return  was  at  the  opportune 
moment,  for  the  next  day  orders  for  the  march  were 
issued  and  he  led  the  old  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  on 
its  last  campaign.  After  the  regiment  was  mustered  out, 
July  12,  1865,  he  returned  to  his  father's  home  in  Wilkes- 
barre.  He  was  a  bachelor  and  remained  one.  His 
tastes  were  not  for  society,  and  it  was  noticed  by  those 
at  head-quarters  of  the  regiment  while  in  the  service,  that 
whenever  he  was  introduced  to  ladies,  who  sometimes,  as 
at  Fort  Monroe,  called  with  visitors,  he  would  blush  like 
a  boy.  His  reading,  as  before  stated,  was  of  the  best 
literature.  The  Atlantic  Monthly  was  one  of  the  maga 
zines  most  frequently  in  his  hands  when  off  duty.  His 
familiarity  with  the  styles  of  the  contributors  was  such 
that  after  reading  an  article  or  essay  (at  that  time  un 
signed)  he  would  pencil  the  name  of  the  author  on  the 
margin. 

Under  regulations  of  the  War  Department,  officers 
who  had  been  in  the  volunteer  service  might,  by  passing 

192 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

the  examination  before  a  board  of  officers  appointed  for 
the  purpose,  receive  appointment  and  be  commissioned  as 
officers  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States.  Colonel 
Conyngham  passed  such  an  examination  and  received 
a  commission  as  captain.  He  was  serving  with  the 
Thirty-eighth  U.  S.  Infantry  in  New  Mexico  when 
stricken  with  the  malady  which  caused  his  death. 

His  father,  Judge  Conyngham,  going  to  visit  him  and 
if  possible  bring  him  home,  met  with  an  accident  on  the 
way  in  Texas  in  February,  1861,  which  resulted  in  his 
death.  Colonel  Conyngham  died  May  27,  1871. 


13  193 


GEORGE  ROYER  LENNARD. 

THE  following  extract  from  the  Wilkesbarre  Record 
of  July  5,  1902,  tells  the  story  of  his  long,  brave,  and 
useful  life.  He  died  July  4,  1902 : 

BRAVE  SOLDIER  DEAD. 

MAJOR  GEORGE  R.  LENNARD  PASSES  TO  THE  GREAT  BEYOND 

HAD   AN    HONORABLE   RECORD    IN    THE    WAR  OF   THE 

REBELLION WAS    TWICE    WOUNDED    IN    ONE    BATTLE, 

AND  CARRIED  A  CANTEEN  AND  A  POCKET-BOOK  THAT 
WERE  PIERCED  BY  BULLETS PARTICIPATED  IN  A  NUM 
BER  OF  ENGAGEMENTS — A  WELL-KNOWN  AND  UPRIGHT 

CITIZEN CONYNGHAM     POST     COMMANDER     ISSUES     A 

STATEMENT. 

Major  George  Royer  Lennard,  a  soldier  with  an  honor 
able  record  and  for  more  than  twoscore  years  one  of 
Wilkesbarre's  best-known  citizens,  passed  away  at  his 
residence,  234  South  River  Street,  yesterday  morning. 
Death  was  not  unexpected,  his  condition  having  been  such 
the  past  three  weeks  as  to  prepare  those  who  watched 
by  the  bedside  for  the  worst.  Major  Lennard  had  been 
in  poor  health  for  over  two  years.  About  a  year  ago 
he  submitted  to  an  operation  at  a  hospital  in  Scranton. 
It  was  only  partially  successful  and  he  continued  to  grow 
weaker.  While  able  to  be  about  his  home,  he  seldom  ven 
tured  out  of  doors.  His  last  appearance  in  public  was  on 
Memorial  Day,  when  he  appeared  in  the  parade  with  his 
old  comrades,  following  them  to  the  cemetery  in  a 
carriage. 

194 


MAJOR  G.  R.  LENNARD 

Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry, 

1861-1868 
President  of  the  Regimental  Association,  1888-1902. 


MRS.  (MAJOR)  GEORGE  R.  LENNARD 

Elected  "Mother"  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Association, 
at  Reunion,  September  24,   1909,  Scranton,  Pa. 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

About  three  weeks  ago  his  old  complaint  attacked  him 
in  acute  form,  and  from  then  until  death  relieved  him  he 
suffered  greatly.  He  was  cheerful  and  uncomplaining, 
however,  exhibiting  all  the  fortitude  and  patience  of  the 
courageous  soldier.  One  of  his  last  requests  was  that 
he  be  buried  by  his  comrades. 

The  deceased  came  to  this  city  in  the  fifties.  His 
life  was  so  upright,  pure  of  purpose,  and  so  devoid  of 
ostentation  that  he  won  the  hearts  of  all  who  came  in 
contact  with  him  in  business  or  social  relations.  He  was 
essentially  a  family  man,  his  tastes  being  for  his  home 
and  books.  He  was  devoted  to  his  wife  and  was  her  con 
stant  companion.  But  he  never  ceased  to  interest  himself 
in  the  welfare  of  his  comrades,  and  throughout  his  long 
illness  he  was  pleased  to  converse  with  them,  their  visits 
being  a  source  of  pleasure  to  him. 

His  military  record  was  one  of  notable  achievement. 
He  was  a  painstaking  officer,  kind  and  considerate,  but 
still  a  strict  disciplinarian.  Between  him  and  those  under 
his  command  there  sprang  up  a  warm  attachment,  which 
has  not  lessened  during  all  these  intervening  years.  He 
has  been  the  head  of  the  Survivors'  Association  of  his 
regiment  since  its  organization,  and  when  able  never 
failed  to  attend  the  annual  gatherings. 

Major  Lennard  was  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  where  he 
was  born  on  March  27,  1827.  This  would  leave  him  75 
years  old  last  March.  He  removed  to  this  city  in  1856 
and  followed  mercantile  pursuits  until  1861,  when  he  re 
cruited  Company  A,  Fifty-second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers.  His  company  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  Naglee's  brigade,  Casey's  division,  Keyes's 
corps,  and  it  participated  in  all  the  battles  of  the  Penin- 

195 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

sular  campaign  under  General  McClellan.  He  later 
served  in  the  Carolinas  under  Generals  Hunter,  Foster, 
Gillmore,  and  Terry.  During  the  fiercely  contested  battle 
of  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  on  May  31,  1862,  while  nearly  out 
flanked  and  almost  surrounded  by  a  superior  force  of  the 
enemy,  he  was  shot  in  the  left  breast  and  at  almost  the 
same  instant  received  a  serious  gunshot  wound  in  the  left 
thigh.  He  was  carried  from  the  battle-field  and  sent  to 
St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 

When  partially  recovered  he  was  honorably  discharged 
by  order  of  the  War  Department  and  promoted  to  be 
lieutenant-colonel  in  a  new  regiment  then  organizing. 
The  order  discharging  him  was  delayed  seventeen  days 
in  submission,  which  resulted  in  his  failure  to  secure 
the  promotion.  The  order  was  then  revoked,  and  he  was 
restored  to  his  old  position  as  senior  captain  by  a  special 
order  of  the  War  Department.  He  served  with  his  regi 
ment  on  Morris  Island,  S.  C,  until  February  n,  1864, 
when  he  was  appointed  by  a  general  order  of  the  War 
Department  assistant  commissary  of  musters,  Department 
of  the  South.  He  was  promoted  to  be  major  of  his  regi 
ment  on  April  13,  1865,  and  was  retained  in  the  muster 
department  after  the  muster-out  of  his  regiment  until 
January,  1866.  The  following  day  he  accepted  an 
appointment  to  the  pay  department,  and  remained  in  that 
service  until  1867,  when  he  resigned  and  returned  home, 
his  service  covering  a  period  of  six  years. 

Among  the  notable  engagements  in  which  he  partici 
pated  were  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  battles  of  Williams- 
burg,  Bottoms  Bridge,  Chickahominy,  Seven  Pines,  and 
Fair  Oaks,  siege  of  Fort  Wagner,  Morris  Island,  Fort 
Sumter,  Charleston,  and  a  number  of  smaller  engage- 

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Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

ments.  Major  Lennard  will  take  to  his  grave  the  bullet 
which  lodged  in  his  thigh  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks. 
Among  his  relics  of  the  war  is  the  bullet  which  struck 
him  in  the  breast  at  the  same  battle.  Among  the  other 
relics  which  he  greatly  prized  were  a  pocket-book  in  which 
was  his  commission,  the  commission  being  perforated  by 
a  bullet,  and  his  canteen,  which  was  also  pierced  by  a 
bullet. 

In  1868,  a  year  after  he  had  returned  to  civil  life,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  S.  Maria  Sage,  of  Pleasant 
Valley,  Conn.  No  children  were  born  to  them.  Major 
Lennard  came  of  a  family  that  achieved  military  fame. 
His  uncle,  George  P.  Royer,  served  in  the  Mexican  War ; 
his  brother-in-law,  John  R.  Waterhouse,  served  as  captain 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Pennsylvania  Volun 
teers,  and  his  grandfather,  George  Royer,  in  the  War  of 
1812.  He  was  a  member  of  Conyngham  Post,  G.  A.  R., 
of  this  city,  since  its  organization,  and  was  especially 
active  on  the  committee  which  looked  after  the  erection  of 
Memorial  Hall.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  G.  A.  R. 
and  several  times  served  as  delegate  to  national  and 
State  encampments.  At  his  death  he  was  President  of 
the  Fifty-second  Regiment  Survivors'  Association,  a 
position  he  held  since  the  organization  of  the  association. 

Major  Lennard  was  a  member  of  St.  Stephen's  Epis 
copal  Church,  being  a  communicant  of  the  church  for 
more  than  forty  years.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and 
three  sisters, — Mrs.  Waterhouse  of  Germantown,  Mrs. 
Sutliff  of  Philadelphia,  and  Mrs.  Briest  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. 

The  funeral  will  take  place  on  Monday  with  services 
at  the  house.  Rev.  Dr.  H.  L.  Jones  will  officiate.  Inter 
ment  will  be  in  Hollenback  Cemetery. 

197 


In  Memoriam. 


To  LIEUT.  EZRA  S.  GRIFFIN,  Post  No.  139, 
Department  of  Pennsylvania, 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Your  Committee,  appointed  in  accordance  with  a  Reso 
lution  passed  at  the  meeting  of  the  Post  held  Friday, 
November  26,  1909,  to  draft  Memorial  Resolutions  on 
the  death  of  our  late  Comrade  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  who 
departed  this  life  on  Friday,  November  19,  1909,  beg 
leave  to  present  a  set  of  Resolutions  as  formulated  by 
them,  attached  hereto  and  made  a  part  of  this  report,  all 
of  which  is  respectfully  submitted  for  the  consideration 
and  action  of  the  Post. 


SAML_ 

WM.  MCCLAVE, 
SMITH  B.  MOTT, 
F.  L.  HITCHCOCK, 
EDWD.  L.  BUCK. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

WHEREAS,  one  of  our  most  esteemed  members  and 
best-beloved  comrades,  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  has  fallen  from 
our  ranks  to  take  his  place  on  the  eternal  camping 
grounds  ; 

And  WHEREAS,  his  life  and  public  services  were  so 
prominent,  his  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  so  deeply 
fixed,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  he  was  a  Charter  Mem 
ber  and  a  Past  Commander  of  this  Post,  justifies  the 
suspension  of  our  customary  rule  and,  as  a  special  mark 

198 


COLONEL  EZRA  HOYT  RIPPLE 

Private  Company  K,  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 
Colonel  of  Thirteenth  Regiment  National  Guard.Pennsylvania. 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

of  honor  in  his  case,   and  the  adoption  of   Memorial 
Resolutions ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  that  we,  the  members  of  Ezra  Griffin  Post, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  deplore  and  deeply  mourn 
the  loss  of  our  late  comrade  Ezra  H.  Ripple,  and  desire 
to  place  on  record  an  expression  of  our  heartfelt  sorrow 
at  the  sudden  order  of  the  Great  Commander  which  has 
called  him  from  among  us,  and,  by  severing  the  fraternal 
ties  and  intimate  relations  engendered  by  many  years  of 
faithful  duty  and  helpful  comradeship,  thrown  upon 
our  Post  a  sombre  shadow  of  grief  and  regret. 

Resolved,  that,  while  we  desire  these  Memorial  Reso 
lutions  to  express  more  especially  the  sentiments  of  our 
hearts  as  comrades ,  we  wish  also  to  record  in  some  meas 
ure  a  recognition  of  Colonel  Ripple's  public  and  military 
services,  and  of  the  place  he  won  and  held  in  the  hearts 
of  this  great  community  in  which  he  passed  so  many 
years  of  his  useful  life. 

Colonel  Ripple  always  took  a  lively  interest  in  public 
affairs,  his  well-known  ability  and  activity  securing  for 
him  recognition  as  a  man  who  could  do  things  and  do 
them  well,  and  he  was  called  to  positions  of  trust  and 
responsibility. 

When  Lackawanna  County  was  set  off  from  old  Lu- 
zerne  in  1878,  he  was  the  first  County  Treasurer. 

In  1896  he  was  elected  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Scranton. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  postmaster  of  Scran- 
ton,  a  position  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  President 
McKinley  in  1897,  was  reappointed  by  President  Roose 
velt  in  1907,  and  was  serving  his  twelfth  year  of  con 
tinuous  service  in  that  position  when  stricken  down  at 
his  desk. 

199 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

He  was  identified  with  many  of  the  business  enter 
prises  and  industries  of  our  city  and  county,  and  for 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  occupied  a  position  of  trust 
and  responsibility  in  the  coal  operations  of  the  late  Wm. 
Connell. 

His  life  was  one  of  continuous  action.  He  was 
"  active  in  business  "  and  "  fervent  in  spirit,"  throwing 
into  his  undertakings  the  best  efforts  of  his  head,  heart, 
and  hands.  His  career  of  business  activity  was  continued 
with  persevering  zeal  until  he  finally  fell  prone  in  the 
harness. 

He  was  not  only  possessed  of  business  activity,  but  also 
of  benevolent  activity.  "  Bear  ye  one  another's  bur 
dens  "  seemed  with  him  to  be  an  abiding  command,  which 
he  obeyed  with  implicit  faith.  His  helpfulness  was  not 
restrained  or  restricted  by  considerations  of  race,  creed, 
or  color.  He  exemplified  that  charity  which  "  suffereth 
long  and  is  kind,"  for  his  charities  flowed  in  a  ceaseless 
stream  and  his  kindness  never  failed. 

Many  a  widow  and  orphan  will  rise  up  to  call  him 
blessed.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the  soldiers' 
orphans  whom  he  aided  to  an  education  and  a  start  in 
life  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  Soldiers'  Orphans' 
School  Commission. 

MILITARY  SERVICES. 

Colonel  Ripple's  first  military  service  was  during  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  when  Lee  invaded  Pennsylvania 
in  June,  1863,  called  the  Gettysburg  campaign.  He  at 
that  time  volunteered,  serving  in  the  Thirtieth  Pennsyl 
vania  Infantry  during  the  "  emergency,"  as  sergeant  in 
Co.  "  H." 


200 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

In  March,  1864,  he  joined  Co.  "  K  "  of  the  Fifty- 
second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  Infantry  as  a 
private  soldier.  The  regiment  was  then  stationed  on 
Morris  Island,  S.  C,  engaged  in  the  siege  operations 
against  Charleston.  On  July  3,  1864,  he  was  taken  pris 
oner  by  the  rebels,  in  an  attempt,  led  by  Colonel  H.  M. 
Hoyt  with  the  Fifty-second  Regiment,  to  capture  Fort 
Johnson,  one  of  the  defences  of  Charleston  Harbor. 
The  attempt  failed,  and  Colonel  Hoyt,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Conyngham,  with  a  considerable  number  of  officers  and 
men  of  the  Fifty-second  Regiment,  were  taken  prisoners, 
among  them  Comrade  Ripple.  He  suffered  all  the  hard 
ships  and  horrors  of  Southern  prison-pens  at  Anderson- 
ville,  Ga.,  and  Florence,  S.  C.,  and  on  one  occasion,  while 
endeavoring  to  escape,  was  tracked  and  surrounded  by 
bloodhounds  that  sadly  lacerated  and  tore  his  flesh  before 
the  guards  came  up  to  take  him  back  as  a  prisoner. 
He  was  paroled  in  March,  1865,  and  mustered  out  of  ser 
vice  June  30,  1865. 

At  the  formation  of  the  Scranton  City  Guard  in  1877, 
he  was  chosen  Captain  of  Co.  "  D,"  and  after  the 
Thirteenth  Regiment  National  Guard  Pennsylvania  was 
formed  he  was  promoted  to  Major,  afterwards  to  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel,  and  in  1888  became  Colonel  of  the  Regi 
ment,  a  position  which  he  held  for  about  ten  years  there 
after. 

In  1895  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Hastings  Com 
missary-General  on  his  staff.  He  served  also  on  the  staff 
of  Governor  Pennypacker,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  serving  as  Assistant  Adjutant-General  with  the  rank 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Stuart. 


201 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

PATRIOTIC  INSTRUCTOR. 

The  record  of  Comrade  Ripple's  services  with  Griffin 
Post  would  not  be  complete  without  a  reference  to  his 
successful  work  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Patri 
otic  Instruction  in  Schools. 

For  a  number  of  years  past  he  has  given  to  this  work — 
the  teaching  of  patriotism  to  the  children  and  youth  in 
all  our  schools,  public,  private,  and  parochial — a  great 
amount  of  painstaking  labor.  It  was  with  him  a  labor 
of  love,  but  he  undertook  it  gladly  and  carried  it  forward 
with  such  ability,  fidelity,  and  enthusiasm  as  to  make 
its  influence  felt  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  valley 
in  every  schoolroom  and  among  all  the  people.  The 
chair  of  "  Patriotic  Instructor  "  occupied  by  him  in  our 
Post  Room  during  his  incumbency  of  that  office  will  be 
a  constant  reminder  of  his  faithful  work,  and  his  last 
words  spoken  to  us  on  the  Friday  evening  before  his 
death,  asking  his  comrades  to  "  keep  alive  the  interest 
in  patriotic  instruction,"  and  "  when  called  upon  to  assist 
in  the  work  do  your  full  duty  to  the  best  of  your  ability," 
attest  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in  having  the  work  carried 
forward,  for  "  from  the  fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh." 

"  Take  him  all  in  all,  we  ne'er  shall  see  his  like  again." 

"  Death  loves  a  shining  mark,"  'tis  said, 

And  so  'twas  he  that  fell. 
In  grief  we  say,  bowed  o'er  our  dead, 
"  He  doeth  all  things  well." 

We  tender  to  his  bereaved  wife  and  children  our  sin 
cere  and  heartfelt  sympathy.  They  have  lost  a  loving 
husband  and  father,  we  a  faithful  comrade,  brother, 
friend. 

202 


Roster  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 

1861  to  1865 


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The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 


MUSTER 
INTO 
SERVIC 


cate. 
cate. 
at  Fair  Oaks,  Virginia. 
12,  1865. 
March  2,  1865. 
October  10,  1864. 


ifi 
ifi 
ed 


Draf 
Draf 
Draf 


On  Surgeon 
On  Surgeon 
For  wounds 
Deserted  Fe 
Drafted  —  D 
Drafted  — 
Drafted. 
Drafted. 


g          :  wB^    « 

g  S^f*.  5°:  «  2  «  %  S  8~-  <=*~*-< 


Troops  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  Sent 

to  the  Peninsula  in  March  and 

April,  1862 


i. 

CAVALRY  RESERVE— BRIG.-GEN.  P.  ST.  G.  COOKE 
Emory's  Brigade  Blake's  Brigade 

5th  United  States  Cavalry  ist  United  States  Cavalry 

6th  United  States  Cavalry  8th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry 

6th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  Barker's  Squadron  Illinois  Cavalry 

II. 

ARTILLERY  RESERVE— COLONEL  HENRY  J.  HUNT 

Graham's  Battery  "K"  &  "G"  ist  U.  S 6  Napoleon  guns 

Randol's  Battery  "E"  ist  U.  S 6  Napoleon  guns 

Carlisle's  Battery  "E"  2d  U.  S 6  20  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Robertson's  Battery  2d  U.  S 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Benson's  Battery  "M"  2d  U.  S 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Tidball's  Battery  "A"  2d  U.  S 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 


Edward's  Battery  "L"  &  "M"  3d  U.  S 6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Gibson's  Battery  "C"  &  "G"  30!  U.  S 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Livingston's  Battery  "F"  &  "K"  3d  U.  S.  .4  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

TT^—  ,,«.>,,    "D  «  4-4- ^~...    *  *  /~*  »      .  4.1-v    TT       O  £.    "\T^.— .^.1«« 


Howe's  Battery  " G"  4th  U.  S 6  Napoleon  guns 

DeRussy's  Battery  "K"  4th  U.  S 6  Napoleon  guns 

Weed's  Battery  "I"  5th  U.  S 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Smead's  Battery  " K"  5th  U.  S 4  Napoleon  guns 

Ames's  Battery  "A"  Sth  U.  S {4  &$£•££  *""* 

Diederick's  Battery  "A"  N.  Y.  Art.  Bat  .  .  .6  20  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Voegelie's  Battery  "B"  N.  Y.  Art.  Bat 4  20  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Knieviem's  Battery  "C"  N.  Y.  Art.  Bat..  .  .4  20  pds.  Parrott  guns 
Grimm's  Battery  "D"  N.  Y.  Art.  Bat 632  pds.  howitzers 

100  guns 
III. 
VOLUNTEER  ENGINEER  TROOPS— GEN.  WOOD  BURY 

1 5th  New  York  Volunteers 
5oth  New  York  Volunteers 

257 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 

REGULAR  ENGINEER  TROOPS—  CAPTAIN  DUANE 
Companies  A,  B,  and  C,  U.  S.  Engineers 

ARTILLERY  TROOPS  WITH  SIEGE  TRAIN 
ist  Conn.  Heavy  Artillery.    Col.  Tyler 

McCALL'S  DIVISION—  FIRST.  CORPS* 
ARTILLERY. 

Seymour's  Battery  "C"  5th  U.  S  ..........  6  Napoleon  guns 

Eaton's  Battery  "A"  ist  Penna  ...........  4  Napoleon  guns 

Cooper's  Battery  "B"  ist  Penna  ...........  6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Kein's  Battery  "C"ISt  Penna 


Reynold's  Brigade  Meade's  Brigade  Ord's  Brigade 

ist  Penn.  Res.  Regt.  srd  Penn.  Res.  6th  Penn.  Res. 

2d    Penn.  Res.  Regt.  4th  Penn.  Res.  gth  Penn.  Res. 

5th  Penn.  Res.  Regt.  yth  Penn.  Res.  loth  Penn.  Res. 

8th  Penn.  Res.  Regt.  nth  Penn.  Res.  izth  Penn.  Res. 

i  Penn.  Res.  Rifles 

SECOND  CORPS—  GENERAL  E.  V.  SUMNER 
CAVALRY. 

8th  Illinois  Cavalry.    Col.  Farnsworth. 
One  Squadron  6th  New  York  Cavalry. 

RICHARDSON'S  DIVISION. 
ARTILLERY. 

Clark's  Battery  "A"  &  "C"  4th  U.  S  .......  6  Napoleon  guns 

Frank's  Battery  "G"  ist  N.  Y  .............  6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Pettit's  Battery  "  B  "  ist  N.  Y  .............  6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Hogan's  Battery  "A"  26.  N.  Y  ............  6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 


Howard's  Brigade 
5th  New  Hampshire  Vols. 
8  ist  Penna.  Vols. 
6  ist  N.  Y.  Vols. 
64th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

INFANTRY. 
Meagher's  Brigade 
6oth  N.  Y.  Vols. 
63d  N.  Y.  Vols. 
88th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

French's  Brigade 
52d    N.  Y.  Vols. 
57th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
66th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
53d  Penna.  Vols. 

*  NOTE. — McCall's  division  of  the  First  Corps  was  about  the  last 
of  the  reinforcements  sent  to  the  Army  of  McClellan  on  the  Peninsula. 

258 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 


SEDGWICK'S  DIVISION. 


ARTILLERY. 

Kirby's  Battery  "  I "  ist  U.  S .6  Napoleon  guns 

Tompkin's  Battery  "A"  ist  R.  I 

Bartlett's  Battery  "B"  ist  R.  I 


4  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 
212  pds.  Howitzers 
410  pds.  Parrott  guns 
\  2  12  pds.  Howitzers 
Owen's  Battery  "G" 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 


Gorman's  Brigade 
2d  N.  Y.  State  Militia 

1 5th  Mass.  Vols. 

34th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
ist  Minn.  Vols. 


INFANTRY. 
B  urns' s  Brigade 
6gth  Penna.  Vols. 
7 ist  Penna.  Vols. 
72d    Penna.  Vols. 
io6th  N.  Y.  Vols. 


Dana's  Brigade 

i gth  Mass.  Vols. 

7th  Mich.  Vols. 

42d    N.  Y.  Vols. 

20th  Mass.  Vols. 


THIRD  CORPS— GENERAL  HEINTZELMAN 
THIRD  CORPS— HOOKER'S  DIVISION 

ARTILLERY. 
Hall's  Battery  "  H "  xst  U.  S {  4  jo  pds. 

Smith's  4th  N.  Y.  Battery 6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Bramhall's  6th  N.  Y.  Battery 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Osborn's  Battery  "D"  ist  N.  Y.  Art'y 4  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 


Sickles1  Brigade 
ist  Excelsior  N.  Y. 
2d  Excelsior  N.  Y. 
3d  Excelsior  N.  Y. 
4th  Excelsior  N.  Y. 
5th  Excelsior  N.  Y. 


INFANTRY. 
Nagle's  Brigade 

ist  Mass.  Vols. 
nth  Mass.  Vols. 
26th  Penna.  Vols. 

2d    N.  H.  Vols. 


Col.  Starr's  Brigade 
5th  N.  J.  Vols. 
6th  N.  J.  Vols. 
7th  N.  J.  Vols. 
8th  N.  J.  Vols. 


THIRD  CORPS— KEARNEY  HAMILTON'S  DIVISION 


Thompson's  Battery  "G 
Beam's  Battery  "B"N.. 

Randolph's  Battery  "E1 


Jameson's  Brigade 
i osth  Penna.  Vols. 

63d    Penna.  Vols. 

57th  Penna.  Vols. 

87th  N.  Y.  Vols. 


ARTILLERY. 

2d  U.  S 6  Napoleon  guns 

f  4  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

i  2  Napoleon  guns 

R    I  /  4  IO  pds.  Parrott  guns 
\  2  Napoleon  guns 

INFANTRY. 


Birney's  Brigade 
3 8th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
4oth  N.  Y.  Vols. 

3d    Maine  Vols. 

4th  Maine  Vols. 

259 


Berry's  Brigade 
2d  Mich.  Vols. 
3d  Mich.  Vols. 
5th  Mich.  Vols. 

37th  N.Y.  Vols. 


The  Fifty-Second  Regiment 


FOURTH  CORPS— GENERAL  ERASMUS  D.  KEYES. 
COUCH'S  FIRST  DIVISION. 
ARTILLERY. 

McCarthy's  Battery  "C"  ist  Penna 4  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Flood's  Battery  "D"  ist  Penna 6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Miller's  Battery  "E"  ist  Penna 4  Napoleon  guns 

Brady's  Battery  "F"  ist  Penna 4  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 


Graham's  Brigade. 
6;th  N.Y.Vols.  (ist  L.I.) 
65th  N.  Y.  Vols.  (ist  U.  S.  Chas.) 
23d  Penna.  Vols. 
3  ist  Penna.  Vols. 
6 ist  Penna.  Vols. 


INFANTRY. 

?  Brigade 

2d    R.I.  Vols. 

7th  Mass.  Vols. 

loth  Mass.  Vols. 

36th  N.Y.Vols. 


Peck's  Brigade. 
98th  Penna.  Vols. 
i O2d  Penna.  Vols. 

93d  Penna.  Vols. 

62d  N.Y.  Vols. 

55th  N.  Y.  Vols. 


FOURTH   CORPS— CASEY'S 

ARTILLERY. 


(2d)    DIVISION 


Regan's  Battery  7th  N.  Y.  Battery 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Fitch's  Battery  8th  N.  Y.  Battery 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Bate's  Battery  "A"  ist  N.  Y.  Artillery 6  Napoleon  guns 

Spratt's  Battery  "H"  ist  N.  Y.  Artillery  . .  .4  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

T 


Wessells' 

Keim's  Brigade 

8$th  Penna.  Vols. 

loist  Penna.  Vols. 

io3d    Penna.  Vols. 

96th  N.  Y.  Vols. 


INFANTRY. 
Palmer's  Brigade 
85th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
98th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
92d  N.  Y.  Vols. 
8ist  N.  Y.  Vols. 
93d  N.  Y.  Vols. 


Naglee's  Brigade 
52d    Penna.  Vols. 

iO4th  Penna.  Vols. 
56th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

looth  N.  Y.  Vols. 

nth  Maine  Vols. 


FIFTH  CORPS— GENERAL  W.  B.  FRANKLIN 

SLOCUM'S  DIVISION 

ARTILLERY. 

Platt's  Battery  "  D  "  2d  U.  S 6  Napoleon  guns 

Porter's  Battery  "A"  Mass (2  12  pds 

Hexamer's  Battery  " A"  N.  J {*™  ^ 

Wilson's  Battery  "F"  ist  N.  Y.  Art'y..  .  .4    3-in.  Ordnance  guns 


(Kearney's}  Brigade 
ist  N.  J.  Vols. 
2d    N.  J.  Vols. 
3d    N.  J.  Vols. 
4th  N.  J.  Vols. 


INFANTRY. 

?   Brigade 

1 6th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

27th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

5th  Maine  Vols. 

96th  Penna.  Vols. 

260 


Newton's  Brigade 
1 8th  N.  Y.  Vols. 
3 ist  N.Y.Vols. 
32d    N.  Y.  Vols. 
95th  Penna.  Vols. 


Pennsylvania  Volunteers 

W.  F.  SMITH'S  DIVISION. 

Ayre's  Battery  "F"  5th  U.t™!'. .  .  {  J 

Motfs  Battery  3rd  N.  Y.  Battery {  4 

Wheeler's  Battery  "E"  ist  N.  Y 4  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Kennedy's  Battery  ist  N.  Y.  Battery 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

Hancock's  Brigade  Brooks1  Brigade  Davidson's  Brigade 

5th  Wisconsin  Vols.  2d  Vermont  Vols.  33d  N.  Y.  Vols. 

49th  Penna.  Vols.                 3d    Vermont  Vols.  yyth  N.  Y.  Vols. 

43d  N.  Y.  Vols.  4th  Vermont  Vols.  49th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

6th  Maine  Vols.  5th  Vermont  Vols.  yth  Maine  Vols. 
6th  Vermont  Vols. 

SIXTH  CORPS— GENERAL  FITZJOHN  PORTER. 
Cavalry,  3d  Penna.  Cavalry,  Col.  Averill. 

MORELL'S  DIVISION 
ARTILLERY. 

Griffin's  Battery  "  K"  sth  U.  S 6  10  pds.  Parrott  guns 

Weeden's  Battery  "C"  R.  I 

Martin's  Battery  "C"  Mass 6  Napoleon  guns 

Allen's  Battery  "E"  Mass 6  3-in.  Ordnance  guns 

INFANTRY. 

Martindale's  Brigade       Morell's  Brigade  Butterfield's  Brigade 

2d    Maine  Vols.  i4th  N.  Y.  Vols.  i;th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

i  Sth  Mass.  Vols.  4th  Mich.  Vols.  44th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

22d    Mass.  Vols.  9th  Mass.  Vols.  i2th  N.  Y.  Vols. 

25th  N.  Y.  Vols.  62d    Penna.  Vols.  836.    Penna.  Vols. 

1 3th  N.  Y.  Vols.  Stockton's  Michigan 
ist  Berdan  Sharpshooters 

SYKE'S  DIVISION  OF  REGULARS 
Warren's  Brigade.  Buchanan's  Brigade.  Lovell's  Brigade. 


261 


The  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Volun 
teer  Infantry  Association 


The  Association  was  organized  at  a  meeting  of  survivors  held 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  May  16,  1888.  At  that  time  the  Secretary, 
Herman  C.  Miller,  had  on  his  rolls  the  names  and  addresses  of 
365  members.  At  this  first  meeting  Major  George  R.  Lennard, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  elected  President  of  the  Association,  which 
position  he  held  continuously  until  his  death  in  1902.  Herman  C. 
Miller,  of  Kingston,  Pa.  (formerly  Corporal  in  Company  H  52d 
Regiment,  and  one  of  the  Color-guards  of  the  Regiment),  was 
elected  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Association  at  its  first 
meeting  and  has  served  in  these  positions  continuously  since  1888. 
Rev.  M.  D.  Fuller  was  elected  Chaplain  of  the  Association. 

The  membership  had  increased  to  492  in  September,  1892,  and 
the  Secretary  at  this  writing, — August,  1911, — makes  a  statement 
as  follows: 

Total  number  of  names  on  Roster  of  Association  750 
Total  number  lost  by  deaths  reported  to  Association  276 

Leaving  number  to  be  accounted  for   474 

Of  these  the  Secretary  is  sending  mail — 1911 — to..  267 

Thus  leaving  unaccounted  for  at  this  time 207 

Of  these  "unaccounted  for"  no  doubt  a  number  have  died 
without  the  fact  having  been  reported  to  the  Association — others 
have  removed  to  other  places  without  giving  the  Secretary  their 
new  address, — and  still  others  perhaps  have  lost  interest,  or  for 
some  reason  fail  to  reply  to  the  circulars  annually  sent  out  giving 
notice  of  the  date  and  place  of  the  next  reunion. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Association  held  in  1903,  Wm.  McClave 
(formerly  1st  sergeant  of  Company  K  52d  Regiment)  was  elected 
President  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Major  George 
R.  Lennard,  and  has  been  annually  re-elected  to  that  position  since 
that  time. 

The  officers  of  the  Association  at  present,  September,  1911,  are 
as  follows: 

President,  WILLIAM  McCLAVE,  Scranton,  Pa. 

Vice-President,  S.  B.  WILLIAMS,  Charlestown,  W.  Va. 

Sec.  and  Treas.,  HERMAN  C.  MILLER,  Kingston,  Pa. 

Chaplain,  Rev.  M.  D.  FULLER,  Carbondale,  Pa. 

262 


WILLIAM  McCLAVE 

First    Sergeant   Company   K,   Fifty-second    Pennsylvania   Volunteers. 
[President  of  the  Fifty-second  Regimental  Association  since  1902. 


HERMAN  C.  MILLER 

Color  Corporal  Company  H,  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania"§Volunteers 

1861-1864 

Secretary  and  Treasurer  Fifty-second  Regimental  Association  since 
organization,   1888. 


SERGEANT  I.  E.  FINCH 

Company  A,  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteer* 

1861-1865 
Member  of  the  Committee  on  Regimental   History. 


JOSEPH  R.  HARPER 

Company  D,  Fifty-second  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 
Member  of  the  Committee  on  Regimental  History. 


SMITH  B.  MOTT 
Historian. 


Addenda 


THE  following  correspondence  in  relation  to  certain  pikes 
or  spears  found  on  Battery  Wagner,  on  Morris  Island,  is  of  much 
interest : * 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  Dec.  15,  1889. 
MR.  H.  C.  MILLER, 

Dear  Sir  and  Comrade, — 

Your  letter  of  Qth  inst.  I  find  on  my  return  to  the  city.  I  regret 
to  say  that  I  have  not  received  the  photograph  of  Gen.  Hennessey. 

*  NOTE. — After  Battery  Wagner  was  in  our  possession,  it  was 
found  that  on  a  portion  of  the  eastern  front  of  the  works  there 
was  a  long  hedge-row  of  peculiarly  constructed  lances  set  up  as  a 
defence  against  a  charge  upon  that  front.  Major  Isaiah  Price,  his 
torian  of  the  Ninety-seventh  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  says :  "  It 
was  found  that  the  outer  edge  of  the  moat,  at  Fort  Wagner,  was 
hedged  by  a  row  of  lances  and  spears,  with  long  hickory  handles, 
set  firmly  in  the  bank  close  together,  forming  chevaux-de-frise  of 
hooks  and  blades  of  steel.  The  material,  light  and  strong,  in  the 
darkness  was  hardly  perceptible,  but  impossible  to  pass  without 
being  impaled  upon  the  points,  if  the  men  had  jumped  down  the 
sides  of  the  moat,  the  bottom  of  which  was  also  covered  with 
planks,  into  which  long  sharp  spikes  had  been  driven,  leaving  the 
points  standing  up  two  or  three  inches,  to  pierce  the  feet  of  the 
men  attempting  to  cross  the  ditch.  These  were  the  most  devilish 
contrivances  ever  set  around  a  fort  as  a  military  defence." 

Corporal  Herman  C.  Miller,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
"  Survivors  Association  "  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Volun 
teers,  at  that  time  secured  one  of  the  pikes  and  sent  it  home,  where 
he  still  preserves  it  as  a  relic  of  the  war.  About  a  quarter  of  a 
century  afterwards  comrade  Miller  concluded  to  find  out  if  possible 
something  of  the  history  of  his  relic,  and  had  some  correspondence 
with  the  ex-Confederate  General  G.  T.  Beauregard  and  others  in 
regard  to  it,  which  is  appended  hereto  in  the  "  Addenda  "  at  the  end 
of  the  book. 


Addenda 

The  last  communication  I  had  from  you  is  a  postal  card  dated  Oct. 
I4th,  in  which  you  said  you  had  written  to  Gen.  Hennessey's  brother 
and  would  write  me  as  soon  as  you  heard  from  him.  I  sincerely 
trust  that  your  letter  containing  photograph  has  not  been  lost,  and 
that  if  miscarried  in  the  mails  will  be  returned  to  you  through  the 
Dead  Letter  Office,  for  it  would  be  a  serious  loss. 

I  have  not  an  idea  of  the  history  of  the  curious  relic  you  speak 
of  from  Morris  Island.  I  have  written  to  a  friend  who  may  possibly 
know  something  on  the  subject.  Perhaps  if  you  should  write  to 
Gen.  G.  T.  Beauregard,  New  Orleans,  La.,  he  might  give  you  some 
information,  as  he  commanded  the  Confederate  forces  in  defence  of 
Charleston. 

Very  truly  yours, 

ALBERT  ORDWAY. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  Jan.  i,  1890. 
MR.  H.  C.  MILLER, 

Dear  Sir:— 

The  gentleman  who  was  Confederate  ordnance  officer  in  Morris 
Island  writes  me  as  follows  regarding  the  pike  you  inquired  about : 
"  The  pike  has  a  history,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  not  of  much  account. 
They  were  a  lot  made  by  order  of  Governor  Joseph  Brown  of 
Georgia  and  worked  out  by  Mr.  Schley  (a  cousin  of  Capt  Schley, 
U.  S.  Navy)  at  the  arsenal  in  Augusta  or  Columbus,  and  I  know 
there  are  a  lot  of  the  pikes  now  at  the  Augusta  Arsenal."  "They 
were  used  for  defence,  and  on  one  occasion  very  effectively  at  Bat 
tery  Wagner,  the  night  Col.  Shaw  was  killed  and  his  brigade 
repulsed." 

The  above  information  seems  to  cover  all  the  facts. 

Yours  truly, 

ALBERT  ORDWAY. 

KINGSTON,  LUZERNE  COUNTY,  PA.,  Dec.  17,  1889,  3  P.M. 
GENL.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD, 

New  Orleans,  La. 
My  Dear  Sir: — 

I  come  to  you  for  information,  by  advice  of  Genl.  Albert  Ordway, 
Registrar  in  Chief,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Can  you  tell  me  where  the  Confederates  who  were   stationed 
in  Fort  Wagner  on  Morris  Island,  S.  C.,  obtained  the  spears  which 

264 


Addenda 

they  left  in  said  fort  at  the  time  they  evacuated  it,  Sept.  7th,  1863? 
I  sent  one  of  them  home  by  express  at  the  time,  and  now  have  it  in 
my  cabinet  with  other  relics,  and  the  question  has  been  asked  me 
time  and  again—  Where  did  they  get  those  old  i6th  and  I7th  century 
weapons  from? 


They  are  certainly  no  boat-hooks. 

Kindly  answer  and  give  me  what  information  you  can,  or  in 
form  me  where  I  can  get  the  desired  information. 

I  am  respectfully  yours, 

H.  C.  MILLER. 
(Late  Corpl.  Co.  H,  52nd  Regt.  Pa.  Vols.  Inft.) 

NEW  ORLEANS,  Dec.  24,  1889. 
DEAR  SIR:— 

I  regret  I  cannot  give  the  information  you  desire  herein.  At  the 
beginning  of  our  late  war  we  had  to  use  all  kinds  of  weapons  to 
arm  our  troops  with,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  pike  or  spear 
you  refer  to  came  from  the  State  Arsenal  of  So.  Ca.  located  in 
Charleston. 

Gen'l  Thos.  Jordan,  editor  of  the  Mining  Record,  61  Broadway, 
N.  Y.  City,  may  be  able  to  give  you  some  information  on  the  subject. 
He  was  my  "  Chief  of  Staff  "  during  the  war. 

I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 


6 1  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK, 

January  25,  1890. 
DEAR  SIR,— 

Confinement  to  my  rooms  and  consequent  absence  from  my  office 
because  of  annoying  sickness,  coupled  with  subsequent  stress  of 
current  work  when  able  to  go,  my  business  has  kept  me  from 
prompter  answer  to  your  note  of  inquiry  transmitted  in  December 
with  a  note  from  General  Beauregard.  Even  now  I  can  give  you 
no  information  with  regard  to  any  i6th  or  I7th  century  spears  that 
may  have  been  found  in  Battery  Wagner  on  Morris  Island,  such  as 

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you  mention,  for  I  was  not  aware  that  any  such  weapons  had  been 
provided  for  the  defence  of  that  fortress,  a  defence  and  successful 
evacuation,  as  well  as  the  engineering  skill  with  which  it  was  finally 
obtained  by  its  assailants,  have  not  been  sufficiently  historically 
treated  as  yet. 

Such  weapons  as  you  mention  and  describe  would  have  been 
quite  efficacious  in  the  event  of  such  an  assault  as  was  attempted 
and  so  bloodily  repelled  on  the  evening  of  July  18,  1863.  I  have  a 
distinct  recollection  that  Gen'l  Beauregard  had  directed,  both  when 
in  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and  in  the  West,  the  manufacture  of 
such  weapons  as  you  describe,  which  is  known  as  a  Spanish  infantry 
"pike,"  not  a  spear  or  lance  such  as  are  used  by  cavalry;  but  I 
do  not  recollect  under  what  circumstances  those  found  in  Wagner 
were  provided. 

Respectfully, 

Your  obt.  svt., 

THOMAS  JORDAN. 
MR.  H.  C.  MILLER, 

Kingston,  Pa. 


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